Nightscape
by AlcatrazisGod
Summary: When Kyon wakes up one day to find that the sun has not risen, he is contacted by a certain blue haired individual. He and Ryoko then set out to search the empty streets of their once busy hometown in order to find the source of this twisted enigma.
1. The Hospital

_Note: This chapter marks the beginning of my new story Nightscape; or if you would prefer, the alternate title is The Nightmares of Haruhi _Suzumiya_. I was debating on the title while I was writing the first chapter and eventually decided to stick with 'Nightscape' since it seemed more unique and intriguing to me. Now, for some background information on the story. For the few of you who may recall, I wrote and eventually cancelled another story for the Haruhi Suzumiya series going by the title of Paradox. I initially wrote that Paradox would return but unfortunately it is no more. Instead, I have decided to make an all new story which I feel to be even better. For one thing, I've noticed that there are too few stories for this particular series that give off macabre or morbid moods. Then again I only truly read story summaries and concoct an assumption from there, but it does seem that there are too few stories such as Nightscape out their for you to enjoy. This combined with the fact that the original series did not delve into more serious topics as it could most certainly have, I have decided to write and publish this story now._

_Also, to give people a better idea of this story's background. It was originally suppose to be a crossover but I decided against it last minute. In fact, the only reason it was suppose to be a crossover with another fandom entirely was due to an idea I had on developing the primary antagonist of the story. __That being said, the antagonist of this story is the same character I used in my Ergo Proxy story Redshift. So, if anyone finds that to be interesting, feel free to read that one as well. Now, that the introduction is out of the way, I hope you all enjoy, please leave your thoughts._

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><p><span><strong>The Hospital<strong>

Kyon stirred from his deep sleep and sat up in the hospital bed he was assigned. He was still in the same room he was in when he first woke up in after leaving that alternate dimension in which Haruhi was not much of a factor.

Kyon sat up in the dark room. It must be no later than 10pm. Kyon looked towards the clock on the wall just across from his bed to confirm that this was the case. He narrowed his eyes at the clock but noticed something odd. The hands on the clock were completely distorted; or rather, his eyes were distorting them. For some reason, he simply could not focus in on the numbers and was ultimately unable to see what time it is.

He eventually gave up on trying to decipher the time and instead turned to see if there was anyone still lingering in his room at this hour. It would appear that everyone has gone home. Or at least, it would first appear that way. With a cynical expression, Kyon leaned over to the left side of his bed to see Haruhi in her sleeping bag on the floor. He was expecting her to be sleeping inside it but as he gained a closer look and his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could clearly see that she was not in the sleeping bag.

This, _thankfully_, would be Kyon's last night in the hospital before he was to sent home and hopefully never return. This sat very well with Kyon due to his hatred for this medical center. He viewed it as creepy and rightfully so. While it seemed to be a normal place during the day, on nights such as this, the halls were dim, the tiles on the floor stained with shadows, wheelchairs and surgery equipment lied strode all over the place after a busy day of saving lives or in some cases, not saving them.

Kyon truly had a problem with this place and while he did not want to leave his room, he felt like he should probably go hunt for Haruhi. He knew she could not be using the restroom since his room had its own such room as expected. However, the restroom door was wide open and the lights were off. Kyon turned to his right and noticed the door leading to the hallway outside his room was cracked open. "_What is she doing now_," Kyon groaned to himself. He then stood up off of the bed and walked towards the restroom.

He stepped inside the dark doorway and shifted his right hand towards a light switch on the wall. He pushed the switch upwards which caused the bulbs above to flicker on in a slightly creepy way. They even created that infamous buzzing sound one would always hear when under a florescent light. This only signaled to Kyon that the hospital needed to replace their electrical wiring since it took the lights more than a second to actually turn on. Kyon flinched at the light regardless of how long it took to turn on.

"_I hate this place so much_," Kyon told himself as he stepped over to the mirror to examine himself. His hair was slightly out of place as expected and he did give off a more tired look. Before he could think more on his current outward appearance, he turned away from the mirror and headed back out into the hospital room. Kyon flipped the light off as he left without needing to pay attention to where the switch actually was.

As he returned to the main room Kyon could not help but notice his phone sitting on the bedside counter. The screen was now on and growing brightly in contrast to the darkness surrounding it. "_Who could be trying to talk to me now_," Kyon asked in a more whiny manner. He picked up his phone and realized someone had actually sent him a text message. The message read:

"_Meet me on the roof. ~Haruhi_".

Kyon's right eye twitched in irritation. "_I would like to sleep sometime this year_," he complained and switched the phone's screen off before tossing it back onto the table. Kyon then walked towards the front door and pulled it open. He poked his head out of the darkness into the lit halls. He halls themselves were only lit by every other light above. It was nowhere near as bright as before but then again the hospital did have to save electricity.

Kyon slowly stepped out of his room and shut the door behind himself. He then proceeded to creep his way down the hallway and try to find an elevator. "What the hell does Haruhi want from me," he asked himself. "_I don't want to go to the roof. I don't want to go anywhere! This place is so damn creepy at night, I would have been just find hiding under the blankets like a scared school girl in a horror movie. Plus, I don't even think I'm suppose to be wondering these halls. I'll probably get in some sort of trouble if I'm caught by a staff member and escorted back to my room._"

As Kyon continued to gripe at himself about going to meet Haruhi, even though he was planning on searching for her in the first place, something came to mind which caused his train of thought to come to a sudden stop just as his stride down the hall did. "_Hey, wait a minute_," he told himself. "_At least now that I know where she is I should just probably go to sleep instead of wandering these halls. I'll just call Haruhi and tell her to come down here._"

With that in mind, Kyon promptly turned himself around and marched straight back to his room. He quickly made his way back to the door which would lead him to the room he was staying. He turned the knob and opened the door before stepping inside. Kyon walked up to the bedside table and picked up his phone once more. He pressed a series of numbers on the screen and pressed the little green phone icon which would connect him to the number of his choosing. Kyon then took a seat on the bed and held the phone to his ear, waiting for a voice on the other end of the line to pick up.

He sat there and listened to the ringing, the same ringing over and over again. Three times did this phone ring rather obnoxiously before the constant and increasingly annoying noise came to a dead stop. "Haruhi," Kyon sighed with relief that the ringing had finally stopped. He waited once more, this time for a direct response but he received none. "Haruhi," he repeated. "Can you hear me?"

Again, no response came from the other end of the line. Kyon was practically left talking to himself. He felt like someone was definitely on the other side of the call. He could almost feel it but he could not hear talking or even breathing for that matter. It is as if Haruhi answered the phone and placed it on the ground next to her for whatever odd reason. "_What's going on_," Kyon asked subconsciously. "_Is she even listening to me? I know she's there._" He then lowered the phone as he heard the beeping tone which signaled that someone either hung up, or he dropped service. Kyon knew this was not the case since he looked to the right hand corner of the screen to see he had a five bar rating on his connection.

"_That was so weird_," Kyon told himself. He began redialing Haruhi's number to try and properly communicate with her but shockingly, in the middle of his typing he received a text message from none other than Haruhi Suzumiya. The message popped up over what Kyon was already working on and this one read:

"_Hurry, please. ~Haruhi_".

Kyon's eyebrow lifted in curiosity at this point. It was completely uncharacteristic for Haruhi to even utter the world 'please.' Kyon would often find himself wondering if she had even a remote idea as to what that word was suppose to mean. This naturally led Kyon to believe something was wrong. He looked around the room and began noticing that the atmosphere had changed. The hospital was now giving off a more sickly vibe. He felt as if the entire building was literally ill from some sort of hellish disease.

Kyon shifted his eyes back to the phone, now shuttering at the very air that surrounds him. He was about to send a reply message to try and figure out what was going on. After all, the phone call did not help but Kyon knew she was openly communicating through messages for some reason. As he began typing out a response, yet another message appeared on the screen.

"_Are you coming or not? ~Brandon_".

"_Who the hell is that_," Kyon questioned aloud. He had never even heard that name before. Well, he obviously knew it was a common English name but never once has he met someone called Brandon. It was at this point that Kyon was beginning to feel slightly frightened. With a thick silence that caused Kyon's spine to shiver, strangers texting him about the same subject Haruhi was speaking of, and now Kyon was noticing that the air around him was increasing in humidity. The hospital room itself was fairly hot when Kyon woke up but now he could feel moisture in the air, even if there was no rhyme or reason for it.

Kyon abruptly stood up and ran towards the open door and came to a stop in the middle of the hall. He looked to the left side of the hall just to make sure nobody was there. When he saw no figures watching him in the distance, Kyon turned around and ran back in the direction he was previously headed. Kyon came to yet another stop when he reached the end of this hall. To both his right and left sides, two different halls separated and would lead to different locations of this particular floor.

Kyon searched frantically for a clue as to where the elevators might be. He then spotted a green sign on the wall with several arrows and a list of phrases written on it. The sign indicated that the elevators were to the left. Kyon wasted no time as he bolted off in that direction. It would not be too long after would Kyon reach another dead end, although this one at least had several elevators along the wall.

"Finally," he breathed and pressed the call button on the first elevator he laid eyes on. The dual metal doors quickly slid open and Kyon rushed inside. He turned around to face the exit and looked towards the pad of buttons which would take anywhere in the hospital that he desired to go. Kyon was only concerned with the roof and pressed the top button which lied above the other buttons on the pad. The doors then closed and Kyon could feel the elevator climbing upwards.

He began breathing in and out to try and calm himself down. "_I'm reading too much into the situation._" He whispered to himself in another attempt to calm his nerves. "_If anything, Haruhi is probably playing a prank on me or..._"

Before Kyon could finish his thought, he heard a familiar voice calling to him from above and slightly to the right. "_Kyon_," Haruhi's voice exclaimed angrily. Kyon naturally jumped as soon as he heard the disembodied voice.

Kyon looked around frantically to find the source of the disturbance but there was nothing present that would indicate Haruhi was actually in the elevator with him. "What's going on," Kyon asked subconsciously, now beginning to panic at the mere thought of all of this happening at once. He tried to rationalize the issues at hand but his thoughts were silenced before they could even be conceived as the elevator came to a sudden stop and the doors slid open.

Kyon never thought he would be so relieved to see the calm starry sky above. He let out a calming sigh and a smile broke out on his face. "_Finally. I never thought being outside would provide such a relief._"

He searched the roof with his eyes for any sign of Haruhi. He froze as soon as he noticed a figure standing next to the edge of the roof. The figure was definitely a person. A person who's arms were stretched out, almost resembling the letter T.

"Haruhi," Kyon asked and headed directly to the figure. The person on the edge did not respond and Kyon could not get a good enough look at the person to tell who it was, or even if it truly was a person. "Haruhi," Kyon asked one more time.

He stopped dead in his tracks as he began to feel an odd sensation. His peripherals soon became enveloped in a white void, yet he had no time to react.

* * *

><p>Kyon woke up and lifted his head from a familiar table, in a familiar room. The first thing Kyon noticed was a smiling Itsuki sitting in his usual spot across the table. This led Kyon to realize that he was actually in the '<em>S.O.S. Brigade<em>' meeting room. "_Oh, that's right_," Kyon reminded himself. "_I was released from the hospital weeks ago. That must have been a dream. I guess I dozed off after Miss Asahina gave me my tea. I don't know why I've been so exhausted lately_."

"Earth to Kyon," a nagging and unfortunately very familiar voice called out to his right. Kyon's confused expression quickly shifted to a scold as he turned to see Haruhi standing a little to close to him with a frustrated look on her face, just like she usually did. "It's about time you wake up," Haruhi stated annoyingly. "I hope you at least had a nice dream since you missed out our plans for the weekend!"

"Let me guess," Kyon stated and dropped his head back onto the table unenthusiastically. "We'll be working on some sort of promotion scheme you thought of. You'll have me do all the work and at the end of the day, nobody on this earth will ever know we exist. Right?"

"No," Haruhi argued. "This time it'll work. We're going to spend the weekend at your place designing posters! I bet by Monday of next week we'll have all sorts of new members!" As Haruhi cheerfully continued droning on and on about her little vision, all Kyon could really process was the fact that she would be using his home.

"Hold on," Kyon interrupted. "Since when did we decide to work at my house in the first place? I don't want you running around, breaking all of my crap. Why can't we do it at your house since you're the only one who actually wants to do this in the first place?"

Haruhi frowned and glared at him. "You already volunteered," she informed.

"Since when!?"

"Actually," Itsuki interjected. "You technically did volunteer since we drew straws to see who's house we would use but you didn't take a straw. So, Miss Suzumiya interpreted that as a generous offer on your part. We thank you for your kindness."

Kyon was stunned by the rather ridiculous argument he was being assaulted with. "I was asleep you two-faced goon," Kyon practically shouted.

"Calm down, Kyon," Asahina requested in her usual timid voice directly behind him.

"There's no need to be rude," Itsuki replied, his smile unfazed and his eyes closed in a cheerful manner. Kyon was of course not buying this artificial expression.

"_If Haruhi breaks something I'm gonna kill you in your sleep_," Kyon assured himself as he scolded Itsuki. "_Oh God_," Kyon abruptly sighed as he just remembered something. "_Today is Friday too. To think that I was expecting a nice weekend away from this band of circus freaks, but no. How dare I think of such heresy? Damn, and I don't have time to baby proof my entire house so if Haruhi runs around, destroys everything in sigh, then accidentally kills herself; it will be completely out of my hands. Thanks a lot Koizumi, I'll remember this one_."

Haruhi was becoming even more than ecstatic now that she knew Kyon had agreed to this, even though he really did not agree, far from it in fact. "Great," she exclaimed. "We should probably head over there right now! We'll need to stop by the store to buy the supplies but we need to do it quickly! I'm sure we'll be up all night thinking of interesting poster designs."

"Oh, you just reminded me Miss Suzumiya," Itsuki announced and pulled a plastic red container out from underneath the table and held it in the air for her to see. "You're probably right, we will be up late doing this project; and since you're the one who will be doing the brain work, I took the liberty of purchasing coffee for you. After all," he concluded and shot an almost insidious grin to Kyon. "You'll need to be wide awake to instruct us on how to create the posters. Am I correct, Kyon?"

"_You son of a bitch, esper_," Kyon growled in his mind and openly gritted his teeth at Itsuki. He seemed to be ready to preform a ritualistic murder in retaliation. "_Is this payback for a few minutes ago when I called you a two-faced goon? No, it can't be. He already had the coffee with him. That bastard was planning on doing this all along. He and Haruhi must have spoken about this before the meeting actually began. Now, he trying to get Haruhi even more hyper than she already is. That's saying a lot considering that Haruhi is the most hyperactive person I know. Maybe he's trying to start a caffeine induced apocalypse or something?_"

Kyon then considered this would probably not be such a far fetched theory. "_On second thought, that would be something to worry about if we're talking about Haruhi. For all I know she'll cause a meteor shower or start a chain of tornadoes all around the world that would effect the gravitational forces in some way and cause us all to fly into space. That isn't physically possible of course but neither is a talking cat_." Kyon halted his train of thought which was now beginning to spiral out of control. He noticed Haruhi marching towards the door and gesturing for everyone to follow her, which they did without resistance.

* * *

><p>Not but around 15 minutes later would the entire S.O.S. Brigade be traveling down the unreasonably steep hill which would lead to the area Kyon lived in. Haruhi was practically dancing her way down the hill while Asahina and Itsuki casually spoke to one another as they followed closely behind Haruhi. Kyon and Yuki however were walking way in the back. Neither of which were speaking to one another; neither of which could be considered walking <em>with<em> the other.

Kyon currently had two things on his mind. One of those being Yuki's recent malfunction which will inevitably result in her being taken by her curators. The other subject which Kyon could not relieve his mind of for one moment was that peculiar dream, or as he now considered it, a nightmare. He remembered it so vividly, running through a very humid hospital before being woken up by a loud and obnoxious Haruhi.

It was only at this very moment in which Kyon abruptly thought of something else. His blood ran cold as soon as the thought came to mind. "_Itsuki was talking about something that day I woke up in the hospital_," he told himself. "_He said I was pushed down the stairs by a mystery girl. That was right after Ryoko stabbed me in that other world_."

Kyon tilted his head curiously as he began to think more on this topic. "_This makes me wonder. Let's assume for a moment that I didn't fall down the stairs on my own. Which in actuality, could I really say I fell down a flight of steps to begin with? Or is that an artificial memory that his been placed everyone's head?_" Kyon quickly realized he was only confusing himself even more and decided to force his mind to retreat to his previous hypothesis.

"_Now, I can't think of anyone other than Asakura who would want to kill me in such a devious fashion but if that is really the case then how is she in this world if I know damn good and well that she was with me in that other world? That is, she could have followed me back here and time might have resumed in this world after I returned. That is possible and it would explain a lot._" Kyon was beginning to feel confidence in himself now that he appeared to be on the right track about this current situation which was more or less a very confusing scenario.

"_So, to be on the safe side_," Kyon concluded. "_I'm gonna assume that Asakura is somewhere around here. I'll just have to make sure either Nagato or Koizumi is around to help. That or I could start bringing a knife with me everywhere. That would probably be a safe decision givin that all of this crap ends up happening to me. However, it's still possible that Asakura isn't even here. This would mean that either I truly didn't fall down the stairs, or somebody other than Asakura pushed me when I returned. Wait, but that has to be the case because I would have to have already been walking down those stairs right when Nagato sent us all to that other world! That would be the only reason that I would return to that exact spot, at that exact time. So, if that is really the case, could Asakura have been the one to push me!?_"

Kyon then grabbed his forehead in confusion and let out an annoyed groan. He did this quietly to prevent any unwanted attention. "_Damn, this is a Rubik's Cube from Hell!_"

"Oh look," Haruhi exclaimed and abruptly ran off to a small store on the right side of the road. "We can get the supplies from there," Haruhi announced before completely leaving her brigade in the dust to go and retrieve said items. Asahina rushed off to try and catch up with Haruhi while Itsuki slowed his pace until Kyon caught up with him.

"What do you want," Kyon pouted and looked away angrily. Itsuki rolled his eyes comically and his smile grew.

"I think you should know that I only gave Miss Suzumiya the coffee because I know she will end up passing out after a few hours."

Kyon turned to face Itsuki while neither of the two broke their stride. "Why do you want her to pass out?"

"Because I need to speak with you and everyone else about something odd I've been noticing," Itsuki informed. "I don't know if you're aware of it or not but have you noticed that it almost feels as if the nights are longer now, even though it's nowhere near winter yet?"

Kyon looked to the cloudy sky briefly before returning his attention to the esper. "No I haven't," he replied. "Please don't tell me this is going to end up like that summer where Haruhi kept forcing us to repeat the same time loop over and over again," Kyon pleaded.

"No," Itsuki responded with a slight snicker. "It isn't anything like that. I only said that I feel each night going on longer than it should. I always check the time but the clock does not tell me anything out of the ordinary."

"When did you start noticing this," asked Kyon.

"I began sensing something odd about the day and night patterns right after you were hospitalized." Kyon then came to a stop, giving Itsuki his undivided attention as he was now growing more intrigued. The esper halted his stride as well and Nagato stepped up to them to see what the problem was.

"While I can't say for certain," Itsuki continued. "I am pretty sure Miss Suzumiya is experiencing some kind of difficulty during the night. I'm not sure why this started and again, I'm not completely convinced that this is the case but my intuition tells me something else is at play here. Can you do me a favor and watch Miss Suzumiya's behavior tonight. I will be observing myself but it would be nice to have a second pair of eyes on her that will hopefully catch anything that I might miss."

Kyon nodded and the three headed into the store to retrieve their supplies and retreat to Kyon's house.

* * *

><p>A few hours after Itsuki and Koizumi spoke, everyone would be doomed to fall asleep in a different corner of Kyon's room. Itsuki's plan to have Haruhi fall asleep early from a caffeine crash did indeed succeed as he expected. She was currently passed clean out, face down on a stack of construction paper and other craft materials that she had strode out on Kyon's bed.<p>

Asahina was fast asleep as well off on the far side of the room, away from everyone else. As Kyon colored in the last poster he planned to work on tonight, he kept thinking to himself while he listened to Yuki and Itsuki speak quietly to one another.

"Miss Nagato," Itsuki questioned after glancing one final time to Haruhi to make sure that she was asleep. Itsuki then turned back to Kyon and Yuki. "Do you have any idea what might be causing these nightly disturbances?"

"Wait," Kyon interjected, now thoroughly confused. "What are you talking about? You told me earlier that you were noticing changes about the night. I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary. Care to elaborate more on this now that she's asleep."

"Miss Nagato," Itsuki requested. "Do you think you could tell Kyon what you've noticed about these changes?"

Yuki placed her marker on the floor and sat upright to ensure that she would be speaking clearly to Kyon. "Yes. The first thing I've noticed is that the nights are stretching over an hour longer than they should. From what Koizumi tells me, there has also been a change in atmosphere but I cannot comprehend this topic so I will leave it alone and allow him to elaborate on this further."

"_Oh, that's right_," Kyon reminded himself as he rested his chin into his palm. "_If Nagato has no concept of emotion, how on earth is she suppose to understand atmosphere. I'm sorry Nagato. I see now that I shouldn't have come back to this place. I should have let things be as you had intended. Now, we have to deal with whatever is going on now. Once it is all over, __I think I should__have to have a few words with __her__._"

"I'll explain what I've felt regarding atmosphere later," Itsuki interjected. "Miss Nagato. Could you please tell Kyon about your most recent communication with the Data Integration Thought Entity?"

Kyon was definitely shocked to hear this. He would not think the entity would be on speaking terms with Nagato if it was planning on extracting her and probably had plans to destroy her given the current circumstance.

"That would be the most awe striking subject revolving around this situation," Nagato replied. "I last communicated with the entity shortly after you woke up from your brief coma. Keep in mind that this was just after you were released from the hospital as well," she explained with a usual lack of emotion. "It informed me that I was no longer of any importance. The entity went on to say that it would not be perusing me any further and would distance itself from Miss Suzumiya as much as possible."

Kyon jumped at this in shock. He was of course happy to see he would not have to worry about keeping Nagato around at this point. However, what had him more concerned was why the entity abruptly backed down in such a way.

"It would appear," Nagato continued. "Or at least from what I can gather would suggest that the Data Integration Thought Entity is experiencing the emotion of fear. I would tend to agree with the notion that the entity feels threatened by what is currently happening around us. I know not of what these disturbances are. I only know they involve the night, and that they are large enough to frighten the entity."

"_Okay_," Kyon said subconsciously. "_Now I'm freaked out. This can't be happening. What the hell is going on that would cause the entity to bug out at the last minute? We know it involved the night, but if that is the case then what does it have to do with Haruhi?_" Kyon stopped himself as he suddenly realized that he should probably be asking these questions to the two people in front of him rather than his mind which did not hold the answers.

He then shifted his eyes over to Itsuki who's smile was now replaced by a more serious expression. "So, what does this have to do with Haruhi," asked Kyon.

"I'll be honest," Itsuki admitted. "I am not completely sure if Miss Suzumiya is at fault for all of this, but I must say that I do not see any other culprits that could be involved. I am hoping that we will have a chance to watch Miss Suzumiya's behavior over the weekend to see if we can spot anything unusual."

Kyon gave a slow nod, signaling that he understood what Itsuki was saying. "Earlier," Kyon began. "You were talking about atmosphere. What do you mean?"

Itsuki took a sip of a glass of water sitting next to him before responding to the question. "Have you noticed anything particularly creepy over the past few nights? Have you noticed a strange rise in humidity?"  
>Kyon's eyes widened at this. He remembered so vividly his dream and how he could feel the moisture in the air.<p>

"There is something ominous going on," Itsuki concluded. "And It's only worrying me more and more with each passing minute. I have a feeling that remaining ignorant to this problem, whatever it is, would be a grave mistake. Just keep an eye on Haruhi. Let me know if she starts acting strange."

Kyon nodded once more. It would be a lie to say he was not intimidated out of his mind at this point. Whatever this strange occurrence was, it is definitely not sitting well with Kyon or anyone around him. "_Well_," Kyon sighed in his mind and shut his eyes. "_Looks like I'll have some more pleasant dreams tonight_," he told himself with obvious sarcasm.


	2. Noctis

_ Note: At last minute, I decided to change up the pairing. My logic is based on the fact that Kyon and Ryoko will be spending the majority of the story together while Haruhi will only be seen every once and awhile. She still is a major character in the story but she won't be as prevalent as some of the , and the fact that it seems to be creative and unique. I would imagine most of the stories out there will involve a Haruhi and Kyon pairing, or at least I assume this is the case but I really would not know. Either way, I hope people will find the story interesting regardless._

_Oh, another side note. Has anyone ever actually seen a diagonal hallway like the one Kyon walks through in this chapter? I'm pretty sure it would not work out too well from an architectural standpoint, but I've always been curious about this topic for some reason._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Noctis<strong>

Haruhi woke up from a not so deep sleep and sat up rather abruptly. She scratched her head and looked around the dark room. The room was slightly unfamiliar to Haruhi and slightly disorientated her until she remembered that she fell asleep in Kyon's room along with the other members of her little brigade while they were busy designing propaganda posters.

She looked down to see everyone else still fast asleep, not even slightly disturbed from her bombastic awakening. Haruhi looked out the window and rolled her eyes as she realized that it must still be pretty late. She has been having a large amount of turmoil at night lately. Nightmares and even even night terrors have succeeded in keeping her awake constantly for the past week or so. Luckily she did not have a nightmare, she simply woke up this time. This was probably the most irritating thing that could happen to Haruhi at this point. For the first night in a week she was able to sleep peacefully and she was randomly woken up for no apparent reason.

Haruhi let out a very annoyed groan and threw herself back up into a sitting position. She clumsily searched for the alarm clock on Kyon's bedside table to check the time. She was quick in finding the little clock and picked it up. She brought it closer to her face for examination but she could not see the time clearly. Even though she could see perfectly fine when staring at a wall, her vision was warped as soon as she laid eyes on the clock hands. The hands themselves were bent and crooked in her eyes, she simply could not focus in to actually tell the time.

She quickly gave up on the idea of ever knowing the time and tossed the clock down to the bed. Haruhi finally decided to walk around for a bit since she probably would not be able to go to sleep for another half hour or so. Haruhi stepped over everyone on the floor and headed directly for the door. She opened it up and stepped outside into the sightly colder hallway. In fact, the temperature dropped rather suddenly and it did not go unnoticed.

"Geez," Haruhi muttered to herself. "I didn't know it was suppose to get this cold tonight. I should have told Kyon to turn the heater on." Haruhi then turned and looked down the right side of the hallway which would lead her to the stairs. One thing she did not pay attention to, was what lied behind her.

Haruhi carelessly took a step forward but as soon as she did, she heard a bone chilling howl sound off from behind. Without spending a moment to think about this, Haruhi bolted off towards the stairwell.

The howling increased as Haruhi moved. She could hear loud stomps from behind her. No matter how fast, she simply could not clear a good distance between her and her pursuer. She made a sharp turn and ran down the stairs. She ran a little too quickly however, and ended up falling on her face.

* * *

><p>Haruhi woke up in Kyon's bed in a fright. She did not scream but she did jolt upwards into a sitting position. She looked around frantically for the person chasing her, but she could hear no monstrous howling. She could also feel no pain from taking such a hard fall either. She soon realized that she was sitting on Kyon's bed. That would only mean one thing, she had experienced yet another nightmare.<p>

Her hands were visibly shaking and it was definitely not due to the cold air around her. She was also sweating as if she had just returned from a marathon. Haruhi shifted her feet off the bed and allowed them to touch the ground just behind Kyon who was still sleeping next to the bed. She watched him for a few moments before she turned her attention to her shoes which had been placed next to his bed. She slipped them on and stood up.

With that little nightmare still in mind, Haruhi felt a little more safe if she were to return home and sleep there. She would simply have to wake up early and return to Kyon's house to help finish the posters. She approached Kyon's closed door with extreme caution. While Haruhi knew she was only dreaming before, she was still fearful of being chased around Kyon's house by some deranged, unnamed psychopath.

She slowly cracked the door open and immediately checked the left side of the hall to make sure there were no lunatics present. When she was certain that no evil was abound, she crept out into the hallway, shut the door behind herself, and took her leave.

Kyon would awake several hours later. He forced his eyes open and lied there motionless on the floor for a few moments. He woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. He was tempted to let it ring until the answering machine would take over but this call was beginning to become curious. "_Who the hell is calling me at this hour_," he asked himself as he sat up. "_Wait, what time is it anyway_," he questioned further. He would have gone ahead and checked the clock but he decided instead to answer the phone.

It was still dark outside which led Kyon to believe that it was still late at night. Either way, it was still not an appropriate time to receive a phone call. As he stood up and approached the bedside table, he could not help but notice that Haruhi had left. Kyon picked up his mobile phone and pressed the talk button while he glared at the empty space where Haruhi is suppose to be sleeping. "_I swear, if this is Haruhi trying to prank me, I'm gonna choke the life out of her. I'll just tell the police she's got a strangling fetish or something. I'm sure they'll believe that._"

Without delaying any further, Kyon held the phone up to his ear. "Hello," he groaned in a slightly harsh tone of voice.

"Wake up, sleepyhead," a really obnoxious voice exclaimed over the other end of the line. Kyon pulled the phone away from his ear on impulse and flinched at the loud response. He knew the voice was feminine and while this would definitely be something Haruhi would say to wake Kyon up, it simply did not sound like her. He could not place who's voice was on the phone but he knew it was familiar.

"Who is this," Kyon asked firmly, not really in the mood to hold up a friendly conversation with someone he did not know. Regardless of the fact that the voice itself was oh so familiar, yet Kyon still could not figure out who he is speaking to.

"You don't remember," the woman asked in shock. "Hmm," she pondered. This person both sounded and from what Kyon could gather, she was acting pretty familiar as well. He remained quiet and allowed her to continue since he was about to find out.

"Oh, I know," the voice exclaimed playfully. "I'll give you a hint or two. You ready?"

Kyon narrowed his eyes at the phone in utter bewilderment, he was completely lost at this point. "Wh-what," he asked dumbly, not truly understanding what was going on with this person.

"Listen closely," the girl warned. Kyon could hear her clear her throat before continuing. "You're only clue is this: I took a _stab_ at our friendship once. I think I was a little _blunt_ in my initial approach and it didn't work out too well," she snickered while Kyon's eyes widened in shock as he immediately figured out who this was by the dark pun.

"So did you guess it," the woman asked hopefully.

"Asakura," Kyon uttered.

"Ew you got it," Ryoko complemented. She knew Kyon would probably react one or two ways after he over came his current state of shock. Either he would verbally lash out at her or hang up and send Nagato to come and kill her. This would only give Ryoko a brief moment to gain control of the conversation and tell Kyon everything she felt he needed to know.

"Now, before you go nuts on me," Ryoko snickered. "There are a few things I need to tell you about. Kyon? Are you there?"

Kyon had already fully realized who he was speaking to but was more curious about where this conversation was headed than he was about retaliation. "I'm here," Kyon murmured. "You'd better have something important to say because as soon as we're done here..."

"I know," Ryoko interrupted. "As soon as we're done you'll have Nagato come kill me. The only problem is... Well," she stuttered and pondered as to how she would explain her current situation to Kyon.

"Have you checked the time yet," Ryoko suddenly asked.

"What? No. I just woke up," Kyon replied. He then looked down to his alarm clock and gasped at the time. "_What the hell_," Kyon questioned to himself, his hands now beginning to shake with fear. "_Why is it still dark outside when it's __10__ O'clock in the morning?_"

"Kyon," Ryoko snapped after waiting a little too long for Kyon's response.

"What the hell is going on," Kyon finally inquired. Due to Kyon's trembling voice, Ryoko could easily tell he did what she had requested and felt satisfied with his reaction.

"I need you to calm down," Ryoko informed. Kyon was not too terribly distraught by this but he was definitely panicking. He remembered everything Itsuki spoke about after Haruhi fell asleep but what scared him the most was Nagato informing him that the Data Integration Thought Entity was experiencing the emotion of fear due to these odd nightly events.

Kyon took a few deep breaths and sat down on his bed. "Alright. What's going on?"

"I don't know," Ryoko admitted.

"Then what the hell are you doing calling me and act like you have something important to say," Kyon asked loudly. "Come to think of it, why are you even here in the first place!?"

"Keep quiet," Ryoko ordered yet her cheerful tone did not so much as waver when saying this. "The last thing I need you to do is wake anyone up. Just follow me for a minute. I'll tell you everything I think I know, then I'll need to meet up with you. Is there anyway you can come to my old apartment building? Do you know where it is?"

"Yeah," Kyon agreed. "Haruhi took me by there one day. Are you going to tell me what you're doing here or something?"

"I'll tell you later, dumb-dumb," Ryoko nagged. "So, what I can understand is that Haruhi is causing this night to go on forever."

"Koizumi was saying something about odd occurrences for the past few nights," Kyon added.

"Well," Ryoko hesitated. "I wouldn't know much about that but I would assume this is her fault. However, this long night isn't what's worrying me. I'm held up in my old apartment now and I keep looking down to the streets from my windows but I don't see anybody down there."

Kyon thought this was ominous. He lived in a big city, there were always people roaming around, even in the dead of night. "_What's going on_," Kyon asked himself once more. "_If she's telling the truth. And let's be realistic, 'if' she's telling the truth then something really strange is happening. But even if it is night, why didn't I wake up by now. I usually don't have the luxury of sleeping in thanks to my sister._"

"So, I just need to come over there and we'll try and figure something out when I arrive," Kyon guessed.

"That's all I can think to do," Ryoko admitted in a slightly defeated tone. "I would have you wake up someone who knows what they're doing, but I'm not sure if that is such a good idea."

"Nagato and Koizumi are here in my room," Kyon informed. "Are they just going to sleep forever unless someone wakes them up?"

"I'm not completely sure but I think that is the case," Ryoko confirmed. "I'm only awake because I haven't slept in awhile but I'm not exactly tired. Since you only just woke up recently and I haven't seen anyone on the news channels that I would recognize, I would think this is the reason. So, don't wake anyone up for right now. We'll return for them later. I just need you to get over here quickly. And no, Kyon," Ryoko reassured, assuming Kyon was already gaining a preconceived notion about this odd meeting.

"I'm not going to kill you. I'm in the same boat as you this time if you'll believe that." With this last statement made, Ryoko hung up the phone without so much as a warning. This only left Kyon to ponder to himself in the dark.

* * *

><p>Kyon would proceed out of the house quickly and soon arrive to a more central area of the city. He was currently only a few blocks from Ryoko's apartment. So far, not a soul was in sight just as Ryoko had told him.<p>

Kyon stopped in his tracks as he noticed a parked police car sitting right in the middle of the road. There were about three other cars in this sort of position all along the street he was currently on. Not to mention the several cars parked orderly next to the sidewalk. Kyon leaned to the right as he noticed two figures sitting inside the car. The passenger's door was also wide open for some reason which allowed Kyon to gain a detailed view of the two officers inside.

Both of the officers remained motionless and leaned back in their seats as if they were sleeping. "_Hmm_," Kyon wondered as he cautiously started for the police car. "_Why are they just sitting out here? And why are they the only people I've seen since I left my house. This part of the city is always crawling with people._"

Kyon came to a stop once more just a foot away from the officer in the passenger's seat. "Excuse me," Kyon questioned as he reached over and nudged the officer in the shoulder. "Excuse me," Kyon repeated loudly and nudged the officer more violently. This quickly led to Kyon accidentally pushing the officer to hard which caused him to fall to the side. Kyon then realized that something was wrong. "_He's definitely not sleeping through this_," Kyon told himself and grabbed the officer's wrist.

He placed his index finger over the large vein in the officer's wrist but he felt no pulse. "Okay," Kyon thought, he was now beginning to panic due to the officer obviously being dead and his partner was probably in the same condition. Without hesitation, Kyon reached into his pocket clumsily and pulled out his phone. He swiftly punched in the number, 110 and pressed the talk button.

Kyon held the phone up to his ear and listened to the ring tone. Eventually, someone answered the phone but did not say anything. "Hello," Kyon asked frantically but no response came. Kyon remained quiet for a split second and he suddenly heard the phone ring once more. Kyon leaned away from the phone with an eery look on his face. "_I know they just answered. So, why the hell is it still ringing?_"

After listening to this ringing sound a few more times, Kyon simply gave up and pressed the end call button on his phone. He then shoved it back into his pocket and turned to the presumed dead officers. Kyon looked down to the officer's belt and spotted a holstered pistol at his waist. Kyon then noticed a flashlight in his lap.

"_I can't help but get the feeling that I'm going to need both of those things_," Kyon thought and reached for the holstered gun. "_At least now I'll feel safer when I go to Asakura's place._" Kyon proceeded to remove the firearm from the holster. He had absolutely no idea how to work the thing other than pull the trigger. Kyon would have walked away had he have not remembered the flashlight in the officer's lap.

Kyon glanced over his shoulder to see if he would really need it. While the main streets themselves were still very well lit, Kyon noticed that as soon as he were to wander off of the streets and into back alleys or even buildings, it was pitch black. "_I'd better take this just to be safe_," Kyon told himself and quickly snatched the flashlight up. "_Knowing my luck, I'll have to navigate through a dark corridor at some point. This thing will be handy._"

* * *

><p>Around 10 minutes later, Kyon would prove himself correct as he came to a stop at a four way intersection. Nobody was presently walking in the streets other than him but he did see there was some sort of construction project going on at this intersection. Kyon would have just walked around it were it not for the fact that the entire area was completely blocked off. This irritated Kyon to no end since he could literally see Ryoko's apartment building right behind this construction zone.<p>

"_Well, there it is. Looming over me and I can't even get to it_," Kyon growled. He then allowed his eyes to wander around the perimeter, trying to spot a way around this mess. He looked to the right and spotted an old metal door which led to an unknown building. The door was specifically located in an alleyway. The only reason Kyon saw this entrance was due to a small light just above the door. "_Hmm_," Kyon thought. "_That's probably a back entrance of some sort. I bet the front entrance is on the other side._"

Kyon walked off towards the building and came to a stop just in front of the backdoor. "_I'm guessing this thing is locked_," Kyon questioned his own fate and reached for the doorknob. He turned it to test his theory but surprisingly enough, the door opened. "_Well, that was lucky_," Kyon concluded and pushed the door open further. He then silently stepped inside and peered down the dark hallway, he could not see a thing.

"_I'm glad I brought this flashlight._" Kyon reached into his back pocket and pulled the flashlight out. He flipped it on and shined it down into the creepy corridor. "_I shouldn't take too long in here_," Kyon warned himself, just remembering that the flashlight is not immortal. "_I don't know what the battery life on this thing is and I don't have any spare ones off hand._"

The flashlight reluctantly revealed this entire hallway. Kyon could easily see where this current hall ended and turned off towards the left. There were papers strode out on the ground and the walls themselves were cracked, the paint was also not helping in beautifying the building. It would appear that this place has not been tampered with in quite a long time. Kyon of course could care less about these details and silently moved forward in a casual way. However, Kyon was definitely on guard at this point. Normally, he would not even think to occasionally check over his shoulder in a situation like this, but after seeing two armed policemen dead, and not being able to connect with an emergency line did do a good job of creeping him out.

Kyon stepped over the trash and litter that was scattered along the floor and came to a stop at the end of the hall. He then turned to the left and allowed his light to reveal what lied ahead of him before he continued his journey. Nothing of much interest made itself present in this hall. Old objects and other such materials that one would expect to find in such a neglected building. This hall was about three times as long as the previous corridor he walked through. His flashlight still illuminated the end where the hall made a right hand turn, but Kyon could only faintly see this from his current position. "_I'm guessing this was an office complex_," Kyon told himself as he began to walk forward. He was beginning to become curious about this place for some reason, but he shrugged his curiosity off and proceeded onwards.

He moved swiftly through the broken down corridor and passed a closed door on his way. He stopped and looked to the door which was positioned on the right wall. Kyon reached for the knob out of shear curiosity but he quickly realized it was locked when he attempted to open it. "_Why on earth is this door locked but the back one isn't?_" Kyon then remembered that this detail was trivial and unimportant. As he walked on, he could only question himself for complaining about this scenario. "_Why should I care? I shouldn't even be complaining because that backdoor being unlocked is the only reason I'm progressing forward. And it's not like there was another way to Ryoko's place, or at least not a route that would have taken me less than an hour or so to navigate through. I technically had to come through this creepy old place._"

Kyon soon came to yet another halt and turned to the right. He became slightly disorientated when he realized the hallway he was about to enter was diagonal rather than a straight line. "_Alright, what's with this place_," Kyon finally broke down and asked his subconscious before pressing onwards. He did not want to keep Ryoko waiting but this architecture was simply ridiculous. "_I've seen diagonal hallways but they're always curved! They're never in a straight line. This hall just doesn't seem structurally sound. They do construct halls and rooms in large squares for a reason don't they?_"

This corridor was much longer than the previous two and Kyon could only see about halfway through before his light faded into darkness. "_I wanna know what freak thought this would be a good idea,_"Kyon complained. As he made his way through the hall his flashlight suddenly illuminated the end of the corridor where yet another turn lied to the left hand side. "_It had to have been some crazy architect who was so tired of doing the same old interior design so he just did this instead. This hallway is madness. Pure madness._"

Kyon came to the end of this particular hall and turned the left once more. He shined his light down this hall and spotted a glass revolving door at the end. This hallway was straight unlike its predecessor.

"_Finally, a way out_," Kyon breathed in relief. He then promptly headed down this corridor and quickly made his way to the revolving door. To his fortune, the revolving door was not locked up and he was able to walk through it. He stepped out into the city streets once more, this time on the other side of the construction project. He flipped off his flashlight and tucked it away in the back of his pocket since he would not be needing it now.

The young man turned and looked up to the looming apartment complex which he knew contains at least someone else in this otherwise empty city. Kyon took a confident step forward, thinking this first part of the journey was about to come to an end when he came to a cold realization which forced him into a dead halt.

"_Damn_," he nearly shouted in his mind. "_What was her apartment number again? I know Haruhi and I looked into it before and I'm pretty sure Koizumi, Nagato, and I wanna say Asahina also checked that place out. But what was the freaking number. It had to have started with a 5, I know that much._"

Something then clicked in Kyon's head and he snapped his fingers, signifying that he had an idea. "_Wait! All apartment buildings have a roster on who occupies what room._" Kyon's glimmer of hope suddenly faded as soon as he remembered one small detail. "_Oh yeah. After Nagato killed her, or at least that first version of her..._" Kyon realized he was only confusing himself by going into detail and shook the thought out of his mind. "_Nagato ended up changing everything_," Kyon told himself. "_She spread the idea that Asakura moved. That means a roster wouldn't help._"

Kyon resumed his walk towards the building and pulled out his phone after gaining an idea. "_Oh, stupid me_," he complained. "_I guess I'll just call her and ask._" He then opened a window on the phone which revealed his call history. He spotted an unknown number listed right before he called that emergency number, and immediately knew this was Ryoko's number. He selected this number and pressed the talk button before holding the phone up to his ear.

He nodded his head from side to side as if doing a mocking little dance to the sound of the dial tone. It was almost a work of karma when he jumped at the sound of Ryoko's voice abruptly answering with a loud, "Hello?"

"Asakura? It's me, Kyon."

"Well, who else would it be," Ryoko questioned cheerfully. "You must walk really slowly because it shouldn't take you this long to get here."

"Wait," Kyon asked as a suspicious expression unfolded on his face. "How would you know that... Uh, never mind, it doesn't matter now," Kyon interrupted himself. While he was pretty sure Ryoko was hinting that she knew where he lived, this was definitely most disturbing for him but he would worry about such details later.

"Where are you," Ryoko inquired further, almost groaning in annoyance even though her jittery and upbeat tone remained the same. "I don't have all night, you know."

"I'm actually in your apartment complex right now. I'm walking into the lobby as I speak but I can't remember you room number."

"Well, how should I know that," Ryoko asked, this time in a more serious tone of voice.

"What," Kyon practically yelled, instantly halting his stride towards the glass entrance. "How do you not know you're own room number? You're in the freaking room right now, aren't you!?"

"I'm just pulling your leg," Ryoko abruptly laughed but Kyon did not find this joke very funny. He was rather irritated by everything that was happening and Ryoko's humorless jokes were not helping. Retaliation against her for this was now one of the top priorities on Kyon's mind at the moment.

"My room number is 505," Ryoko informed. She also gave Kyon a floor number to actually find her room. Ryoko then promptly hung up the phone, just like before, she did so without warning.

Kyon slowly lowered the phone and placed it back in his front pocket. "Oh yeah," he thought as he moved his hand from his front pocket and patted his back pocket. "_I'm going to shoot her when I get a chance. I should really kill her for those stupid puns she said earlier. I hate puns. I think I'm just having an all around bad day... Or night if I'm going to be technical about it._"

He reached out for the automatic door but it opened before Kyon could reach it. Kyon stepped inside and stopped in the middle of the lobby. He scanned the area for an elevator and sure enough, he spotted one on the far side of the room. He would have headed for it had he not have heard a sudden series of footsteps coming up from behind him. Kyon swiftly turned around but nothing was there. He tilted his head to try and gain a better view of the streets outside but they were just as desolate as the interior of the complex he was now in.

"_Alright, this is getting freak__y_," he told himself and started off for the elevator. Kyon stopped in front of the dual metal doors and reached over to a panel towards the right and pressed the call button. The metal doors immediately opened and stepped inside.

One thing that kept bother Kyon as he was roaming through the streets, even more so than the fact that the streets were deserted and the night seemed to be unending was the thought of those dead police officers. "_As soon as I finish talking with Ryoko, I'll head down to the police station. I can't just leave those bodies there __without telling anyone__._" Kyon was slightly haunted by that sight but he has been able to shrug this oppressive feeling off for the most part.

The doors opened not but a moment later with a loud and rather stereotypical ding. "Alright, room 505. It should be over here," Kyon announced after noticing that the odd numbered doors were on the right side of the hall. He walked down the hall until he came to the 5th door down the line. Kyon looked to the label on the door which did indicate that this was the desired room. Without further hesitation, Kyon knocked on the door.

A few seconds would pass before the door opened, revealing a very familiar and very creepy girl with blue eyes and blue hair standing in the entrance. With a bright smile on her face, she stepped aside and gestured for Kyon to enter the room.

However, Kyon did not enter the room right away. Instead, he slowly reached for his back pocket and touched the handle of his newly found pistol to make sure it was still with him.

"Come on in," Ryoko finally said in a welcoming manner. Her smile did not look exactly false, but it was as manipulative as always. Kyon slowly entered the room, not so much as turning his back on her for a second.

As soon as Ryoko shut the door and Kyon had cleared enough distance between the two of them. He abruptly pulled out his pistol and aimed it for Asakura, regardless of the fact that he really did not know how to aim a weapon.

"Alright," he scolded. "Now, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"


	3. Monsters

_Note: Without wishing to spoil the ending of this chapter, I will say that those of you who are familiar with Paradox will recognize the little guy at the end._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Monsters<strong>

Night loomed over the earth in the most oppressive manner imaginable. In a normal scenario, the world would live out a joyful day in the sun for around 10 or more hours depending on season. However, as any creature that has ever lived would know, the sun is only temporary. To keep the sun from slowly burning a specific portion of the earth, night acts as a prevention to this. The night is usually considered to be just like the day, but without a sun.

However, this is not the case. While it seems logical to explain the enigma of night and day in this manner, but in actuality, the world is perceived far differently. When the world is plunged into darkness, it looks like a completely different place. This difference is what gave birth to the age old fear of the night itself.

The notion of monsters has always been a subject for bedtime tales and campfire stories since the beginning of literature. As legend goes, when night falls, hideous and heinous monsters will run rampant in the world. These monsters were used as a tool to make children go to sleep on time. They would often be told that if they were not to go to sleep by a certain time, the monsters would come to consume their flesh and chew on their bones.

Now the night was never ending, and this night as its own little monster to terrorize people. That monster being Ryoko Asakura, who while might be an attractive young girl, her innocence remains false and her beauty remains deceptive. That was the way Kyon viewed her anyway. Nothing more than a living hoax.

Ryoko and Kyon were still held up in her apartment. Or rather, her old apartment. At the moment Ryoko would technically be considered a vagrant. Kyon took a seat on the couch after a few minutes, letting his guard down only slightly since Ryoko has not done anything that might be considered threatening yet.

"So," Kyon called out loudly in order for Ryoko to hear him from her current position in the kitchen. "You followed me back here just to push me down the stairs? Then invite me over to do... what? Why did you even call me here? Hell, why do you even have to breath air. The world would be better off if you suffocated."

Kyon stopped himself as he realized he was acting a little out of character. "_Eh, that might have been a little harsh... Wait a minute_," he reminded himself subconscious as he glared at Ryoko. "_This is Asakura I'm dealing with. I should just shoot her. That would do the world some justice. I really want to but she might have some useful information. I'll shoot her later._"

Ryoko soon came out of the kitchen area with two tea cups in hand. "Ew, somebody's in a mood today," she teased casually and placed one of the cups on the coffee table in front of him.

Kyon immediately leaned away from this coffee mug. He was 100% it has been poison. "I'm not going to drink that," he shouted.

Ryoko tilted her head in confusion. "Why not," she asked with false innocence.

"Because you're evil and that tea is going to kill me," Kyon snapped. "You put something in it! Something horrible!"

Asakura lifted an eyebrow and grinned at him. She still seemed to find his misery amusing. "You're paranoid," she laughed. "Ya know that?"

"No I'm not," Kyon argued. "I'm using basic logic. You tried to brutally murder me for a really bad reason. Not too long after that did you stab me in the back, and were probably planning to mutilate my corpse! Then you push me down the stairs for absolutely no reason other than retribution for me living through your countless attempts to murder me."

The blue haired girl blinked at him for a few moments, allowing an awkward silence to take over. "Hey," she finally began, her smile still not fading away. "I never pushed you down the stairs, silly. Attempt to stab you to death sure. Stalk you, sure. But I don't recall ever pushing you down a stairwell."

"Yes, you threw me down a staircase," Kyon fired back. He would have continued with his rant but he suddenly realized a rather disturbing thing Ryoko just told him. "Wait, since when have you stalked me?"

"When I was trying to kill you, _duh_," Ryoko explained and tapped her head in an attempt to call Kyon stupid for not figuring this out sooner. "How else was I suppose to place a block of dry ice in your room so you could suffocate, and there would literally be no clues as to whom did the action."

Kyon was speechless after hearing this. Obviously, Ryoko had given serious thought to killing him as if it was the only aspect of her life. "_Alright, this is getting creepy_," he told himself while staring at Ryoko's heinous grin. "_I should probably figure out what the deal is with the stairs thing. I'm sure she's lying about that. Who else would push me down the stairs for no reason. I can't think of anybody who wants me dead other than her, and I haven't upset any ancient burial grounds so I can't be cursed either._"

"Koizumi told me that somebody pushed me down the stairs," Kyon elaborated. "This was right after you stabbed me. So, I know it must have been you."

Ryoko placed her right hand under her chin in a pondering manner. "Hmm, sounds like someone pushed you down the stairs," she announced cheerfully.

"Who did it," Kyon asked sternly. This one topic was beginning to bother him. It was obvious that Ryoko did not do it. Why would she not take credit for pushing him down the stairs when she gladly seized the credit of attempting to murder him twice, and stalking him?

Ryoko simply shrugged her shoulders, signaling that she had no idea as to whom the culprit might be.

"_Now, I'm really creeped out_," Kyon told himself. "_I'm pretty sure if Ryoko did push me down the stairs, she would have said so by now. Ironically, I'm significantly less intimidated by her now. It would probably make me feel better if I knew she did __push me__, but what freaks me out more is that I don't __have a clue__ who did it. I suppose I'll figure it out later. We've been here long enough, I need to figure out what she wants so I can be on my way._"

Kyon then shot a glare at Ryoko. He appeared to already be tired of sitting here and was eager to learn more about this never ending night.

"Alright, are you going to tell me what you want? Because," Kyon began as he stood up and pulled his pistol out of his back pocket before aiming it at Ryoko's head. "If you just called me here to try and kill me then I'm going to shoot you, and leave to figure out what's going on."

Asakura slowly backed away held her hands slightly above her head. "Please calm yourself," Ryoko stated, even though there was an obviously high chance of her dying, she was still smiling ever so brightly.

"I was only trying to find someone who could help me. I want to gain a better understanding of this night as well, but I can't go out there alone. I don't really know much about the nature of these events but I do know it's dangerous out there. I think I have a plan though."

Kyon lifted a cynical eyebrow at her. "How can you have a plan about something if you don't know what you're planning for? And how is this place dangerous? I was walking from my house all the way over here and I didn't see anything."

"I would like to explain the dangers outside," Ryoko stated with an almost sly grin. "But you would probably just call me crazy and shoot me anyway. So, I think you should just experience them for yourself."

It goes without saying that Kyon was still unconvinced by Ryoko. "And what about the plan," he questioned doubtfully.

"Like I said before," Ryoko admitted. "I really don't know what's causing the night to spill over into the day. I also don't know what's..." She paused as she realized she was probably going into too much detail. "Anyway," she stated, dismissing her previous thought. "While I would imagine Suzumiya is behind it. I think we need to go to the train station. There is another theory I have which would be verified if we go and see someone."

"What about Nagato," asked Kyon. "Shouldn't we wake her and the others up. Surely they could help us."

"They would help you," Ryoko replied, playfully scolding him for not thinking that statement through. "They would only kill me."

"Yeah, that's the goal," Kyon admitted and lowered his weapon. Of course, the only reason he did this was because his arm was getting tired.

Asakura giggled at him, knowing it would be better not to take him seriously. "Well, are you coming to the train station with me? If you go, there's a chance you could see me die horribly," she teased as if it were some sort of sadistic opportunity.

"Alright," Kyon exclaimed.

"_It's not like there's anything better to do_," Kyon told himself while narrowing his eyes at Ryoko. "_This is the only lead I have. I can't just go running around this place. That wouldn't solve anything. I might as well go along with her for the time being. Who knows, maybe she's on to something with... whatever it is she's trying to do._"

"I'll go with you but first I have to stop by the police station."

Asakura seemed to be rather surprised by this. "What on earth would you need to go there for?"

"On my way over, I saw a few dead police officers. I tried to call the station but they wouldn't pick up. That's where I got this gun. I just have to go and tell someone before I leave."

"Wait a minute," Ryoko laughed and crossed her arms. "You mean to tell me that you saw a couple dead police officers, couldn't get a hold of the emergency number, and you still don't believe me about this place being dangerous!?"

Kyon only just now made that connection. Now, he knew Ryoko was at least being honest about something. That would be a small start in the right direction.

"Okay," Kyon began as he tucked his pistol away and headed for the door. "I'll go to the police station and meet you by the trains when I'm done. It shouldn't take too long but this little field trip of yours better not take days on end."

"It won't," Ryoko assured. "But I think I'll just come with you. It's not like I'm in too big of a rush."

Kyon glared at her for a few moments while holding the doorknob. "Alright, fine," he sighed. "But hurry up. I'd like to get out of this building before the end of the year if that's alright with you."

Ryoko promptly nodded and followed him out the building.

* * *

><p>While Ryoko and Kyon were beginning their little adventure to figure out the true cause of this eternal night. Another person, in a completely different town was sitting in a dark room. A very dark room.<p>

This person was a young man wearing a red, hooded jacket. There was a small illustration of a smiley face on the chest area of the jacket. This young man wore the jacket's hood over his head to hide the majority of himself. He also wore blue pants and average walking shoes. One odd feature about this man was his face. He was currently hiding it underneath a blank opera mask. Similar to the same type of mask the Phantom of the Opera would wear, but this mask was not broken into one small peace.

The mask combined with the hood made this young man completely unrecognizable. This stranger sat alone on a bed with his back leaning against the wall. He stared blankly at the door. Not making any sudden moves. Not speaking nor thinking. This lad's name was Brandon. He must have been sitting in that same spot for well over around two hours. Every once and awhile, Brandon would hear a horrifying scream from outside of this little dorm room, but Brandon would not so much as flinch.

Eventually, he finally forced himself to stand up. After taking a brief scan around the room, Brandon spotted a small beside table just to his right. He turned and leaned over as he pulled the top drawer open. With his left hand, he slowly reached inside until he grabbed hold of a metal bar. He then pulled this object out of the drawer, revealing it to be a chrome, average sized bow saw.

Brandon always enjoyed any type of saws. From your average handsaw to the infamous chainsaw. It seemed to be a hobby for him to collect them. While he had several hidden about this room of his. This one bow saw was his favorite. For some reason, he absolutely adored this saw, even though he had many other more impressive ones. The only type of saw Brandon did not have was a chainsaw. He has always desired to possess one, but unfortunately, that day has not yet come.

Brandon closed the drawer once more, and pushed his mask back up to properly fit his face since it was sliding downward ever so slightly. He then headed for the door and promptly threw it open. The door made an obnoxious creek as it opened which Brandon seemed to ignore.

He then stepped out into the hallway. The halls themselves were darker than his room but Brandon did not care about this either. He really was not bothered by a lack of light, his eyes were already adjusted to it. Ironically, there is a flashlight sitting on his bed, but he does not need one. Brandon was only afraid of one thing, and the dark was not that one thing.

Brandon slowly began walking down the right hand side of the corridor towards a door at the end of the hall which would lead to a staircase. From there he would finally be leaving this dreadful place he was now forced to reside in. One thing Brandon could not help wondering however, is where everyone ran off to. He has not seen a soul wondering around these halls ever since he left the room. He was already well aware that the night was lasting longer than it should, but again he really did not care about this. Instead of pondering on these trivial topics for too long, he simply moved on. Eager to get out of this dark and lonely place that has only succeeded in turning him into an extremely hateful and intimidating person.

* * *

><p>Ryoko and Kyon would soon find themselves wandering through a section of back alleys that were not very well lit. In fact, they ended up being so dark, Kyon was forced to pull out his flashlight after nearly ramming into a wall.<p>

"_Why the hell are we even here_," Kyon asked himself as he covertly glared at Ryoko who was happily skipping off ahead of him. "_She said this was a short cut to the police station, but I'm pretty sure that's a lie. My idea was to use the open streets where we could actually see where we're going but no, she wanted to come through this place. I've never even seen this part of town! Not only that but we've been walking for an hour now. I swear I'll shoot her if we're lost._"

"Ryoko," Kyon finally broke down and asked since he could not bare walking around aimlessly in this concrete maze of a city while his destination was probably only getting further and further. "I thought you said this was a short cut, but if we would have taken my route not only could we actually see what was in front of us, but we would also have found the station by now. Do you even know where we are right now?"

The blue haired girl twirled around and flashed a slightly devilish grin towards him before she too adopted a more quizzical expression. "I will admit," she sighed. Taking responsibility for her mistake was not something Kyon was expecting, but then again, this would be the first time he and Ryoko would have actually interacted in a non violent manner. As a result, the only things he really knew about her personality would be his his own assumptions.

"We did get lost for about 30 minutes but I was able to figure out where we were suppose to go around," she pondered and placed her index finger to her chin. It took only a split second for her to make a semi-educated guess about the subject in question. "I'd say 15 minutes ago, so it's no problem. Don't even worry about it," she winked.

"Wait a second," Kyon demanded. "Don't you think I should have known we were lost? Did it ever pop up in your twisted mind, 'hey! I'm completely lost, better tell Kyon that I screwed up.'"

Asakura tilted her head and shut her eyes cheerfully. "That isn't very nice," she responded. "The back entrance is right there," she continued and pointed towards a metal doorway just ahead of them. It was positioned on a brick wall just above a small set of concrete steps. A light shined dimly above the door.

Kyon looked in the direction she was pointing and sure enough, there was a label posted on the door which would confirm what she was saying to be true. He shot a dirty look to Ryoko who only returned this with a bright smile which did succeed in making Kyon feel guilty, but only slightly.

"Great," he sighed. "Then let's get in there," he stated and walked towards the door.

"It's locked," Ryoko informed from behind, but this did not stop Kyon from walking up the steps to the door and attempted to open it. Once again, Ryoko was right. While this did not improve her track record for correctness since Kyon would probably never forget her getting him lost on the way over, but it was amusing for her to see she Kyon scolding her harshly.

"Fine," Kyon groaned, extremely annoyed with the whole situation. "_In reality_," he told himself. "_The police station is the one place I would expect their back entrance to be locked, but this is still retarded. I hope this place isn't too big seeing as how I'll have to go all the way around until I find a new entrance._"

Kyon then turned back to Ryoko. "Okay, let's head around to the front of the station and enter through the lobby. I would probably just get beat up and arrested if we were to go through a back entrance, anyway."

"Actually," Ryoko corrected. "Why don't I wait for you outside. Someone should keep an eye out for anything suspicious don't ya think?"

Kyon lifted a more curious eyebrow at Asakura. "You've been hinting at something ever since we started this whole thing. What exactly do you keep trying to tell me? Earlier, you mentioned something about this city being dangerous. What did you mean by that?"

Ryoko shrugged her shoulders, obviously not willing to tell him as if she would spoil a big surprise if she did say anything.

Kyon quickly realized he would not be getting any of the desired information out of her. Even though she specifically came into contact with him and talked him into going on this little adventure with her because she needed help, Ryoko was not being very cooperative. Regardless, he would have to deal with her for the time being since there truly was no other lead he had on the current and rather dark events.

The two would soon make their way to the large glass entrance to the police station at the front of the building. This was clearly the proper entrance. Kyon and Ryoko could clearly see everything inside, from the seats in the lobby to the front desk where a receptionist would usually sit. Oddly enough, nobody was inside. What was even more strange was that all of the lights in the lobby were off except for one just above the reception desk. This naturally made the entire inside of the building pitch black.

"Okay," Ryoko began slowly as she placed her hands behind her back. "I'm definitely not going in there," she informed. "I'll just wait outside like I said I was going to, but I'll watch your back from out here."

"Alright, I won't be long," Kyon stated. "I'm pretty sure there's nobody in there but I still need to double check." With that, Kyon reached around to his back pocket and pulled out his flashlight. He obviously did not want to pull his pistol out since he would be walking into a police station. Even though it seemed deserted, he still did not wish to take any risks.

He turned the flashlight on and aimed it ahead of himself as one would normally do with such a useful tool. Kyon then promptly walked towards the glass doors with caution. He held his hand out and sure enough, they slid open without opposition. Kyon cautiously headed inside until he came to a second pair of glass doors. These doors slid open as well, granting Kyon entrance to the dark and lonely lobby.

The doors slid shut behind him. This caused Kyon to jump slightly due to the unexpected noise, but he quickly got a hold of himself, realizing that it was only the sliding doors. The real eerie feeling lied within the station itself.

The place was not as dark as it appeared from outside. The light from the reception desk did allow Kyon to see, and he could even see most of the lobby from outside. The only problem which made the atmosphere of this building sick and oppressive was the ominous silence that over took the complex. Not a phone was ringing. Not a person was speaking. Nor was a mouse squeaking. There was nothing other than him in this building. If there was even so much as feather dropping to the ground, there would be a good chance of Kyon hearing it against the contrast of silence.

"_There really is nobody here_," he said in his subconscious as he started in the direction of the reception desk. "_If that's the case, I should probably search for an extra clip for my gun. I really don't think I'll need it since I haven't seen anything but from what I can gather, Ryoko is afraid of something. That does seem surprising but if she is, then I really need to be on guard._"

Kyon stopped just in front of the reception desk and looked around. There was not much here as well. He was hoping to spot an area where supplies would be kept but it obviously would not be out in the open like this. Kyon pondered on where to search as he lifted up his left hand while he still held his flashlight in his right. He placed his hand on the table and leaned forward.

Not but a second after he placed his hand on the table did Kyon feel another hand grasp onto his wrist. He widened his eyes as he felt this monstrous hand dig its nails into his flesh. Kyon quickly turned and froze in fear as he watched a shadowy figure rising up from behind the desk. The figure would quickly be illuminated by the light above and Kyon's flashlight to reveal its features. This thing was most certainly not a person. It slightly resembled a human, having a man's head but that was about where the resemblance ended. This creature had huge orb-like white eyes. The eyes themselves looked as if they were made of milk.

The creature had enormous teeth as expected and the claws on its hands must have been just under a foot long. The face of this heinous creature was nothing short of horrifying as well. The creature's skin was smooth like a human's, but the only odd thing about it, and what made the beast all the more frightening was the fact that the skin seemed to be stretched just to fit around the body. This was especially true in the facial area. It definitely looked as if the skin could not completely fit around the creature's head. It was jumbled and wrinkled like someone wearing a shirt far too small for them. Another detail about the skin was its orange-tan pigment. The beast also had no ears of any description. Only its large eyes to spot anything that moves around in front of it.

Allowing basic survival instincts to kick in due to his conscience being overwrought with fear. Kyon abruptly raised his right arm and swung the flashlight at the creatures head. He was able to strike the creature hard enough to cause it to shriek a horrifying and unrecognizable howl of pain. Kyon then tore himself away from the beast, falling to the ground in a sitting position during the process. Kyon dropped his flashlight as he fell and began scooting backwards, trying to clear as much distance between the reception desk and himself as possible.

Kyon heard another loud screech. This time it sounded more of an angry scream rather than a pained one. Not a moment after this howl was heard did the monster leap from behind the desk and directly on top of Kyon.

Without wasting anytime, Kyon clumsily tried to grab a hold of his firearm, still tucked away in his back pocket. The monster abruptly brought its right hand down upon Kyon, cutting his chest rather deeply with its extremely long claws.

Luckily, Kyon grasped his weapon by the handle just as this happened and pulled it out on reflex. Kyon fired three random shots at the monster. Since it was at point black range, he had no troubles shooting the monster in the neck twice and chest once. Blood poured from the monster's wounds. It fell over to the left side of Kyon, letting out a horrific gurgling sound as it proceeded to die from these wounds.

Kyon pushed himself away from the monster until he backed himself into a nearby wall. He could not take his eyes off the creature. It stared blankly, its terrifying white eyes remained open just like a human's when they die. It was not breathing which was a comforting thought to Kyon. His mind simply could not handle this. His entire body was shaking and his heart probably stopped beating about a minute ago.

He could hear Ryoko walking up to him. She must have heard the gunshots from outside, but then again, how could she miss them? Kyon's ears were still ringing from the loudness of the gun's blasts, however that was the least of his concerns. He was absolutely petrified. He was to afraid to move from this once spot. He sat there, hoping that any other monster that may be in the area would think that he is dead and simply move on.

"_I_," Kyon told himself as he watched Ryoko's feet approaching him from afar. "_That... thing... was a monster. A horrible, evil, disgusting monster! What's going on!? What was that... that.. that thing!?_"

"Is it dead," Kyon finally asked allowed after acknowledging that Ryoko was now looming over him. Her facial expression was of a more concerned one than her usually happy and jittery expressions. "Is it really dead? Are there others? I have to get out of here. I have to find a place to hide! Somebody else can deal with this. Go and find that person on your own! I'm not leaving," he shouted in a frenzy of fear while all at the same time, not moving from his little fetal position on the ground. Not so much as taking his eyes off of the horrific creature that now lies dead before him.

"It's dead Kyon," Ryoko assured. "This was what I was talking about. I saw an entire pack of these things wondering around a back alley of my apartment while I was waiting for you. I was watching them through my window. They were crawling on walls and hiding in dark locations. They can be really hard to miss when you're in a dark place so keep your eyes open."

Kyon slowly shifted his eyes from the monster to Ryoko. "You said there really are more of them? You said you saw a pack of them? I'm not going anywhere. Do whatever you want but I'm going home."

With that Kyon forced himself to stand up. He walked past Ryoko to make his way to the glass doors, but at the last minute Ryoko grabbed his wrist, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"Where are you going," she asked. "Just listen to me. I don't think Haruhi is the problem. I think something else is happening but I really need help to figure out if my assumption is correct or not. Those monsters will hunt you down for killing their comrade. I think their pack creatures, anyway. There are probably several in here right now watching us. Just come with me to a town out in the country. If we don't find anything there, we can come back here and try it your way."

Kyon looked over his shoulder to face Ryoko. "Fine," he sighed, knowing Ryoko was most likely doing the correct thing by searching for whatever it is she was looking for. He then looked back towards the monster on the floor. "I can see why you didn't want to go to the train station on your own," he admitted.

His eyes then met the floor. He was no longer feeling fear, but hopelessness and sorrow. Anything would be better than living in a world with these horrible creatures running around. "Let me get my flashlight and find some more ammunition before we leave," he sighed before abruptly collapsing to his knees. It would appear that the very thought of these monsters, and the fact that he would have to face them again in such a frightening setting was simply too much for him to bear.


	4. Train Ride

**Train Ride**

Ryoko led the way through the abandoned streets. Kyon followed slowly behind her. His mind was completely silent. His facial expressions only helped verify this. He was already defeated. He stared at the ground, eyes glazed as if he were shell shocked. Kyon was still shaken by the events of the police station. A horrifying monster jumped out of nowhere and tried to kill him, probably in a more brutal manner.

Luckily, they were now sticking to the well lit streets of the city rather than venturing out into the dark alleyways that Ryoko warned him about earlier. She did not seem quite as disturbed by the monsters, but then again, she probably has seen more of them over the night given that she has been awake this whole time while Kyon was asleep.

"Oh look," Ryoko announced after around 15 minutes of silence. She then pointed off in the distance straight ahead of the two. Ryoko came to a stop and Kyon walked up next to her before halting his stride as well.

He slowly looked up to see a familiar downward staircase in a large open area of the sidewalk on the left hand side of the road. There was a line of glass windows around the staircase which in turn supported a light roof.

"There's the subway station," Ryoko informed as if Kyon was unable to figure that out for himself. "Come on. Let's get down there." Without so much as a warning, Ryoko grabbed Kyon's wrist and bolted off in the direction of the metro station.

* * *

><p>Brandon continued his lonely stride through this dark and depressing building of an unknown purpose. He was currently walking down a staircase of his own. His bow saw had been clipped to a belt loop on the right side of his torso since he simply did not wish to carry it for however long he would be walking.<p>

He pushed on through an atmosphere which only seemed to push back. Brandon eventually made it to the bottom of the staircase which led him to what appeared to be a lobby. The place was just as dark as the rest of the building. However, what made this room more oppressive than the others was its current condition. Chairs were thrown all over the place. Broken glass covered the floors from where several windows along the walls were broken down.

This only led Brandon reinforcing his idea that there was simply nothing of use to him here. There was no rhyme or reason for him to stay in this solitary place. He then turned around in an almost cold manner and headed for the front entrance to finally take his leave.

Just as he made it about halfway to the door, he could hear a strange commotion coming from behind him. This commotion was quickly followed by what sounded like an audible growl. Brandon looked back over his shoulder to face the interior of the lobby with hopes to find the source of all of these disturbing sounds.

Brandon narrowed his eyes to try and pierce the darkness just enough to see across the room towards a large reception desk in the back. Sure enough, he quickly took notice into a shadow moving around in a corner of the room just to the left of the desk. The young man in the mask turned around to gain a better view of the moving figure in the distance. Not too long after would the figure become evermore clear to Brandon.

The figure was actually a creature, however, it was unlike the one Kyon and Ryoko discovered in the police station of their hometown about an hour and a half north from Brandon's current position. This creature was much taller and larger than the monster in the station. It strongly resembled a Sasquatch in many ways. It had the body of a human male, covered in thick, dark brown fur. The face of this heinous creature strongly resembled that of a primate's. This creature had a brown tarp which it wore around it's waste. The tarp covered down to the creatures knees. Another notable figure about this monster was the brown leather satchel it wore. The satchel was strapped around the creature's right shoulder.

Brandon was surprisingly all too familiar with this creature. In fact, Brandon even had a name for him. He was called Grendel since this beast beard a strong resemblance to the illustration by J. R. Skelton which depicted the age old antagonist of Beowulf epic poem. This nickname would be very fitting since the monster that now stood in front of Brandon did indeed look exactly like the creature in that painting.

Grendel has been haunting Brandon since his toddler years. The young man never knew where Grendel came from, but every night as he would try to go to sleep, he would see this mysterious furry monster staring him down at the foot of the bed. This would only escalate when Brandon became of age to attend schooling. Grendel would usually stand behind the teacher and watch him silently. Studying every move Brandon made, or even thought about making. Just by this alone, Brandon would quickly realized that at the time, he was the only person who could actually see the ape-like demon.

This naturally led Brandon to become obsessed with this monster he named Grendel. He constantly drew very detailed pictures of him in his art classes which the teachers admired greatly without actually understanding that there was some very sinister inspiration behind the illustrations.

As time progressed through Brandon's young life, Grendel became more active. He became much more oppressive as well. It would not be too long, at around the time Brandon entered 7th grade would Grendel start breaking things while he was away. Gradually, Brandon would return to his home and find a vase broken, or a glass, and eventually pictures of him and only him. Brandon did have siblings, but Grendel never bothered to destroy their pictures, nor his parents. However, he would always go out of his way to ruin a picture of Brandon and place it in an area he knew Brandon would find it easily.

This would only lead to more noticeable events which would worsen and worsen as time went on. Not a year after this did Brandon start waking up with claw marks on his neck, face, arms, and legs. He would always notice them in the shower, the hot water would burn the unexplainable scratches in a rather uncomfortable way.

Unfortunately for young Brandon, this is not where the mystery would end. The most extreme thing Brandon would experience would be when he roamed his house in the dead of night. There would be times he would wake up, and leave his room to go to the restroom or grab a late night snack. As soon as he would do this however, Grendel would begin chasing Brandon from an unseen area behind him.

It goes without saying, that Brandon absolutely despised Grendel. He was the reason Brandon was locked up in this place. He was the reason Brandon was deemed completely insane even from a young age. To this day, Brandon could still not quite figure out where Grendel came from. He did at least have a theory though. Back when he was very young, Brandon was taken to a playground in the town north of this one. There he met a young girl, her name escapes his mind at this point obviously, but he remembers a couple small details about her. She was very hyper and wore a yellow ribbon in her hair. The very night he left the playground and went home, he met Grendel for the first time.

Brandon began backing away slowly as Grendel flashed his sizable, solid white teeth at him. These teeth were more like the fangs of a baboon only larger. Grendel then leaned forward and stood their for a split second before sprinting after Brandon, who in turn, span around and bolted out the front door.

* * *

><p>Kyon and Ryoko were sitting next to each other on board a moving train. It did not take Ryoko long at all to find a train which would take them to the desired destination southward. It was also blind luck that they found a train which was just about to depart for said location.<p>

The two have been sitting there for around two and a half hours. Ryoko finally found time to take a light nap since she had not slept for a good time now. While Kyon sat next to a window, Ryoko sat in the seat next to him sound asleep. Kyon stared out the window with a blank expression. Looking out this window was rather pointless since it was already night outside, and the light from inside the train prevented him from seeing anything other than his own empty reflection.

He sat their for the longest time. He did not want to think about that horrifying creature at the police station, but he simply could not keep his mind away from the subject. At first he was worried about having the infamous Ryoko breathing down his neck for the past few hours, but now it was an almost comforting thought to have someone with him in this frightening time. Even if it was just Ryoko.

Kyon allowed his eyes to close shut for a few seconds to try and calm himself down. "_I've gotta get out of here_," he whispered in his mind. Afraid of the idea that if he were to think too loudly, the monsters would hear him. "_I can't even think clearly without seeing those huge white eyes. And here I thought she was intimating_," he continued, glancing briefly to Ryoko. "_That thing had claws that were longer than my forearm. And Ryoko said there were more of them hiding out there in the shadows. Where are they, if that is the case? Are they here on the train too!?_"

"Boo," Ryoko's voice sounded off from behind as she grabbed him by the shoulder. This sudden action caused Kyon to jump slightly. Kyon turned to her and shot an angered glare at the blue haired girl.

"Did you really have to do that," Kyon sighed and allowed his head to fall downwards. His forehead landed on the seat in front of him where he refused to move away from.

Ryoko titled her head cheerfully and gave him a friendly, yet probably a false smile. "Would you cheer up already? You've been moping around since we left the police station. Sure, there are some terrible things outside but that doesn't mean we still can't have fun! You're so boring. If I would have known things would end up this way I would have called someone more entertaining."

"Who else would you have called," Kyon questioned with skepticism. While Ryoko was quite popular, he knew she had almost no connections to the types of people who would be able to deal with the current situation. The only people he could think of off the top of his head would be the other members of the S.O.S. Brigade.

"Well, let's see," Ryoko thought aloud and placed her index finger to her chin. "I could have called Nagato but she would have killed me on the spot. Then after that was said and done she would probably figured out that the night was never ending. I could have tried to contact that Koizumi guy or whatever his name is, but I don't even know him very well. So, I can't say he would be to trust worthy. I could have called Asahina, _oh wait_," Ryoko reminded herself with a somewhat obnoxious snicker. "I forgot, she's completely useless. So I called you instead."

"Miss Asahina isn't useless," Kyon argued. "She might be a little... um..."

Ryoko smiled with satisfaction as she watched Kyon attempt to make an excuse for Mikuru, who was indeed pretty useless other than providing decent eye candy for any spectral observing Haruhi's little brigade.

"Alright, she's not too terribly useful," Kyon admitted. "But she's still a valued member of the..." Before Kyon could drone on about Mikuru who was undoubtedly his favorite member of the S.O.S. Brigade, he was cut off by a loud thud from behind. Kyon and Ryoko turned to see what the source of this disturbance.

Both of them could easily tell it came from the metal door in the back which led to the next train car in line. It sounded just as if the thud came from directly behind the door. Neither Ryoko nor Kyon said anything immediately, both waiting to see what the other had to say.

"You have your pistol with you right," Ryoko finally questioned, breaking the oppressive silence.

Kyon nodded quietly and patted his back pocket where he stored it. "I'll go check that out. Just stay here, I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Oh, I wasn't planning on going back there," Ryoko replied as she crossed her arms and turned around before promptly sliding back into her seat. Kyon looked down at her with a flat expression.

"I would recommend you stay here as well," Ryoko warned pleasantly. "You already saw one of the monsters, and keep in mind that was just one of them. The chances are pretty high that there is a monster on this train which just produced that noise. So, why don't you just stay here? It's not like that thing knows where in here to begin with."

"Because there's also an even greater chance that the noise we just heard was caused by something falling over. I'm sure it was nothing but I just want to make sure. I don't want us to both fall asleep on this train when one or more of those things are aboard."

Ryoko giggled lightly even though there was no reason for it. Nothing particularly fun or lighthearted had happened to the little duo for awhile now. She then raised her right index finger in the air as if she were about to explain something to Kyon.

"Newton's first law of motion states that an object at rest tends to stay at rest until an outside force acts upon it," she stated with twisted glee.

Kyon blinked at her silently for a few seconds before he finally formulated a proper response to her out of the blue explanation. "Um... what does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm saying that something back there wouldn't have fallen on its own, that would be impossible," Ryoko stated, batting her eyes sweetly at Kyon in an abstract attempt to highlight his ignorance regarding what she meant by the previous explanation. "I'm sure some horrible creature is back there trying to lure us towards it. We should try to be more careful in situations like this. I think those monsters are smarter than we're giving them credit for."

Kyon could definitely see this as a possibility. From what Ryoko had elaborated on earlier, they were not the average ghouls from a fairy tale. They had a mentality that revolved not around killing innocent people who roam the streets at night, but around survival just like every other animal on the face of the planet. Hunting people would probably come to a close second priority for them, but even that had to do with survival.

According to Ryoko, the monsters traveled in packs because they are instinctively afraid of facing a human directly. The only reason that single monster in the police station attacked Kyon was probably because he spooked it on accident. However, even with the understanding that it was not a good idea to travel out in the open alone, Kyon still felt the need to figure out what that noise was. He was hoping to take a nap on the train, but that would be impossible with the notion that one of those creatures could be present and roaming around in the train cars.

"Whatever," Kyon finally sighed and stood up. "I'll be right back. It will just keep bothering me if I don't figure out what's back there."

Ryoko rolled her entrancing blue eyes at the thought of Kyon actually placing himself further in the way of these monstrosities when he has been so traumatized from seeing that first one. Regardless, she halfway wanted to find out what caused that thud in the first place. It was definitely bothering her just as much as it was Kyon.

With nothing left to say on the matter, and with stalling becoming more of a nuisance than it was worth, Kyon shifted his way past Ryoko and stood out in the middle of the alley between the two rows of seats. He then headed straight for the metal door.

He quickly came in range of the door and grabbed a hold of the cold iron latch. "_It shouldn't be problem_," he assured himself silently. "_If I see anything back there I'll just shut the door really fast. There's no way those things are strong enough to get past this. I mean seriously, have you seen there hands_," he asked the imaginary audience in his brain. "_Those claws are meant for cutting not breaking down metal doors. I bet they're pretty important to the overall anatomy of the monsters. They probably need them for hunting and..._"

Kyon stopped his rambling as he realized that he was only killing an unnecessary amount of time. He swiftly lifted the hatch and pushed the door open. Kyon immediately grabbed a hold of the wall as the door swung open. He only just now remembered that while on a train, the only way to go from one car to the other would be to cross the large link that connected them. This was however, not the safest thing to do since that one link was the only thing that connected the cars. There were no walls to break the strong winds, just as there was not a proper floor to keep Kyon from falling onto the electrified train rails.

"Oh God," Kyon groaned in his mind. "I forgot about this. Alright, all I have to do is place one foot on the link and jump off towards the other side. It will only take a second. Plus, it isn't like I can actually fall off... I just have to land my jump right. People cross these things everyday, there's no way I'll end up falling off."

Kyon then shut his eyes and leaped forward. His right foot landed on the link as he predicted, yet he wasted no time allowing his left foot to land on the link. Instead, he moved his left foot straight towards the ledge just in front of the closed door which was the only clear way for him to enter the next car down the line.

Kyon quickly grabbed hold of the latch on the door and opened it up. He then proceeded to rush inside with hopes of finding the source of disturbance from this side of the train. Unfortunately, there was a disturbance in this car to be seen.

He closed the door behind himself to keep the breeze from chilling him too much. Kyon then turned around to see what was inside the car. There directly in front of him, in the middle of the train car, standing in the alley was a young boy. He looked to be no older than 12 years of age. He had black hair, but Kyon could not see the boy's eyes. This was because the young man wore a mask on the backside of his head rather than over his face. The strings on either side of the mask were wrapped around his eyes. It was nothing more than a thin wire, but it was wrapped around the boy's head so tightly, the wire dug into his eye sockets which forced him to keep his eyelids shut over the wire.

Other than this one disfigurement, the boy appeared quite normal. He wore a casual red shirt. However, as soon as Kyon looked down to examine the boy fully, he realized the child had no legs to speak of. This would mark the second odd detail about this boy then became perfectly clear. He wore a long back drape of cloth around his waste which covered most of his lower body. Where it ended, Kyon did not see a pair of feet, but rather a single rod of wood connected to a solitary wheel which presumably acted as his feet.

The boy stood there motionless like a soldier at attention. His arms rested at his sides while his overall facial expression was entirely devoid of emotion. The boy was silent for the longest time, as if waiting for Kyon to say something. That or the boy simply could not see Kyon and therefore did not know he was present in the train car with him. This was also entirely plausible since it would appear the wire in his eyes might have completely blinded him.

The boy quietly raised his arm, extending it towards Kyon. "Who lies there in front of me. I cannot see thine face, yet I can heed his words. Speak now, introduce yourself. Allow me to gain a better understanding of you, the entity before me. Allow thyself to gain acknowledgments of who I am. Of what I am."

Kyon said nothing at first. He was both confused and disturbed by the sight of this young lad who's eyes were literally crushed and bleeding thanks to a wire attached to the mask he wore on the back of his head. He also could not help but wonder why the boy needed an odd form of what appeared to be a unicycle to replace his legs. Eventually, he shook the scene off and was able to focus more on the boy in question, rather than his heinous deformities.

"My name is... um... well people have a tendency to call my Kyon so why don't we just go with that." He hated to introduce himself this way since he absolutely despised the pseudonym Kyon, but there were times in which he would actually forget his own birth name. This would unfortunately be one of those times.

"And I go by the alias, Enigma," the boy replied. "Is there anything I... or excuse me, we might be able to do for you? We do not often have visitors. Are you lost?"

"No," Kyon replied. "I was riding in the car ahead of this one with my friend and we heard a noise back here. I came to see what it was. Um, by any chance though, could you possibly enlighten me as to what's going on?"

"What is your inquiry," Enigma questioned, allowing Kyon to continue.

"Well, do you know anything about the night. The sun should have come up hours ago, but it's still dark outside. And I've seen this creature. It had white eyes and really long claws. Could you tell me what that is? And who are you? Or what are you?"

It took a few moments of silence before the ominous boy named Enigma could give Kyon his answers. "I do apologize for the inconvenience this may cause thou, but I simply cannot give such answers. I remain ignorant to all aforesaid topics. I will now allow you to send these inquiries to my comrade."

With that said, Enigma span around, facing away from Kyon. It was only now that Kyon gained a clear view of the mask Enigma wore on the backside of his head. It was a white drama mask depicting tragedy.

"I too," the masked version of Enigma began before Kyon could so much as get a word out in response. The mask spoke with perfectly animated lips and unlike the normal version of Enigma, of course the term 'normal' must be used lightly when discussing Enigma.

"Am completely ignorant to your questions. I shall do my research and I will see thou again with the answers to your curiosities. I however, will warn you that the answers might be somewhat disturbing yet I shall give you an unbiased analysis of the situation. Until then... do your best to survive until that time comes."

Before Kyon could respond, just when his mind was not even finished processing everything that Enigma had told him; the light above this odd creature flickered on and off. As soon as the light flipped on once more, Enigma had completely disappeared.

* * *

><p>Ryoko sat in the seat Kyon was previously sitting in before he got up and left to go and hunt down the source of that mysterious noise. She was not too happy in the first place about Kyon snatching up the seat next to the window. She complained about it to him, but Kyon made the very legitimate argument that there were more than enough seats for her to find her own window, preferably far away from him.<p>

She looked out the window, occasionally seeing an amber light in the distance, but those were only produced by street lamps or far away cities. It was nothing useful. The world outside still seemed completely baron. At this hopeless moment, she could only ask herself; "_Where have the 7 billion people of earth run off to. Surely they were not a myth, and if so, would that mean there is nothing but oblivion beyond what she and everyone else who is involved with Haruhi had already seen? Was there truly nothing more to this place other than what Haruhi could fantasize about?_" Of course, that was still a rather large 'if' to Ryoko since she truly believed Haruhi was not behind this. What would be the point in destroying the world she called home in such a brutal fashion? It would be the equivalent of burning down one's own home when their family was still inside.

Unfortunately, Ryoko, the covertly miserable soul could not give further thought on this topic as she heard Kyon finally opening the back door to the car she was riding in, and step inside before shutting it behind himself.

"Kyon," she announced as she span around in her seat and peaked over it to get a better look at her little friend. "What was in that other car? Was it a monster, or was I wrong and there was actually nothing in there to begin with?"

Kyon strolled over to where she was sitting with an empty expression on his face. He took a seat next to Ryoko while at the same time, he debated on telling her what he saw. "It's not like it really matters," he told himself. "I'm sure it doesn't affect her in anyway. I was probably just imagining the whole thing to begin with."

Ryoko abruptly cleared her throat in an attempt to remind Kyon that she was still sitting next to him, and she was still expecting an answer. Kyon only shrugged at her, signaling that there was nothing that would spark her interest back there.

The blue haired girl let out a light sigh of frustration. She would have nagged him further to try and get him to speak with her, but something else caught her interest.

She tilted her head to the left as she looked out the line of windows on the opposite side of the train. From there, she spotted another train moving along the tracks parallel to theirs, yet this train was also moving in the opposite direction.

Ryoko watched the train go by, only half interested in seeing it while the other half of her interest lied in Kyon. She would have completely turned away from it, resenting the sight of this boring train, but out of the corner of her eye she spotted a familiar young man sitting there. It was only for a split second since both trains were moving at around 200 miles an hour. Yet even with this being the case, Ryoko could still see a white mask covering this man's face. This person was exactly the man she was looking for. A young man no older than her or Kyon who wears a white opera mask, and goes by the name 'Brandon.'

"Kyon," she announced and stood up. Kyon jumped at her sudden burst of energy. Ryoko then shifted her way past him and into the main walkway. "Come on," she ordered. "I just saw the person I'm looking for. Follow me and we can still catch up to him."

"Wait," Kyon pleaded in confusion but it was no use. His blue haired friend abruptly bolted towards the door he had previously used to access the car behind this one.

Ryoko paused after she opened the door and looked over her shoulder to Kyon. "Hurry up. You have to follow me! He could help us figure out what's happening. I think he also might be behind a lot of this."

Ryoko then ran out, and proceeded to step onto a thin ledge that traveled all the way around the car. She scooted to the right of this ledge with her back pressed against the metal walls of the car.

Kyon stood up and chased after her. He did the same as he did. First he leaned out of the car and looked to the right to make sure Ryoko had not put herself in any sort of danger. Fortunately she was in the process of turning the corner. By the time she vanished from his peripherals, Kyon manged to make his way out onto the ledge. He then scooted quickly in pursuit.

With fear swelling up in his mind, Kyon was soon able to turn the dreaded corner of this car. His mind was completely quite, instead of subconsciously complaining about the situation, he was fully focused on surviving Ryoko's crazy plan, whatever it was. He still did not know who she was chasing, or even where he was. By now he had correctly assumed he was on the other train, but he had no idea what Ryoko had planned for getting to it.

He soon found himself standing on the side of the car, with that small ledge at the bottom to be his only support. The only thing between him and a painful death. He looked to his left to see Ryoko standing right next to him. She in turn, shifted her attention to him for a brief moment. Ryoko then silently smiled before turning back to the neighboring train and leaping off the ledge towards it.

Kyon was in shock at first but quickly snapped back to reality as he saw Ryoko successfully grab onto the train. Not an instant after that did she leave his sight once more due to both trains moving at such a high speed.

He debated on this for only a split second before his instincts finally kicked in. Kyon knew he could not abandon Ryoko now. He would have to continue this game of follow the leader no matter how dangerous it currently was. Kyon did not stop to think, nor did he really have the time to since the trains were about to part ways for good. He simply shut his eyes and took a leap of faith.


	5. Bleak

**Bleak**

In that dark bedroom of Kyon's, it was still dead quiet. It was quieter than it normally ever is in a town such as the one Kyon and the others lived in. The entire planet would soon be enveloped in such a wonderful silence. Such an inhumane time of peace.

One would think with horrific monsters invading the world, there would be plenty of noise to be heard. From gun shots to screaming, and even to howls in the night given off by the monsters as the scurried around the planet like overgrown cockroaches. Yet regardless of these dark facts, the planet was now experiencing a beautiful serenity unlike anything seen in history.

Kyon's room was nothing more than a mirror now. A mirror to reflect such a bloody yet peaceful serenity. It was quiet like the vacuum of space. The sleeping town, much like the sleeping word had no noise of comfort to offer. Why should it? What was the point anymore? Therefore, the silence would take hold, offering a means of solitude to those who were still around to listen to the noises that spark out during the dead of night.

Unfortunately for those few lost souls, there was no midnight noise of which to speak of. That is, until something in the darkness caused a book to fall off of the bedside counter and onto the ground. This in turn produced a loud thud, which caused Itsuki to wake up from his deep slumber on Kyon's floor. He sat up rather abruptly and looked around the room. Strangely enough, nobody else was present with him.

Obviously, Haruhi woke up from her nightmare sometime ago and Kyon woke up to the sound of his phone ringing, but if Ryoko's theory was to be proven correct, what woke up Asahina and Yuki? Those two were nowhere to be seen. This was not the subject that was on Itsuki's mind since he had no idea what Ryoko's theory was. He had no idea what was even going on at this point. The only odd thing he noticed was that he was alone in this room when he was not a little while ago.

It was debatable whether or not Yuki was even asleep to begin with. It was still unclear whether she actually slept at all or not. This was still beyond Itsuki's mind though. He immediately assumed he woke up a little too early since it was still dark outside. He was of course not realizing that the sun would probably be reluctant to ever show itself to the earth again.

* * *

><p>Far away from where Itsuki currently was, Kyon found himself clinging for dear life to the side of a moving train. He landed on the back corner of one of the cars towards the end of the train. Ryoko was a few train cars ahead of him, but he really did not care about her safety when he was too busy worried about his own.<p>

He suddenly opened his eyes for the first time after leaping off of the previous train. He looked around, gasping for air in a panic. The friction oxygen which was produced by the train going two hundred miles an hour was not helping either.

"_How do I get out of this_," Kyon asked himself as he looked around for an entrance in a frenzy. "_There has to be a way in this train from out here. Is there an open window or something?_" As Kyon looked around, he noticing that the right side of his body was not feeling as much wind while his left side was. He turned to his right to see the connection link that lied between the car he was clinging to, and the car behind him. Two metal doors were also present. He was at the connection point. Half of his body was behind the car while the other half was clinging to the side of the car. This would explain why his right side was not feeling that horrid wind.

He wasted no time out here and instead he quickly scooted his way towards the large metal link. Kyon then stepped onto the link and threw the door to the car open before promptly running in. Kyon did not even waste time closing it behind himself. He simply ran down the empty aisle towards the next door which would lead him to the car ahead of this one.

It would take him no time at all to reach this door and pull it open as well. Kyon then leaped across the large link and grabbed a hold of the next door. He pulled it open in the same manner he did with the last and thew himself inside.

Kyon was about to bolt off again to go and look for Ryoko, but he stopped himself as he noticed that unlike the rest of the cars on this train, the lights were completely off in this area. It was pitch black. Kyon was not about to go running blindly in here. He scanned the dark car for any signs of life before he suddenly remembered something. "_Hey, I should probably shut this door_," he told himself.

Kyon then turned around and closed the door. As soon as it was locked into place Kyon turned back around and slowly pulled out the firearm in his back pocket. Now that the door was shut, there was no obnoxious noise caused by the train moving along outside. It was muffled and the sound of the wheels going across the tracks were still audible, but for the most part, an uncomfortable silence swept the train car.

"Wait a minute," Kyon thought as he remembered yet another crucial detail about his situation. "I have a flashlight," he announced subconsciously, and reached into the opposite pocket from where he usually stored the firearm.

Just as he was about to pull his flashlight out to illuminate the train car before him. He froze his action as he noticed something peculiar on the floor in between the two seats to his right. He spotted a pair of bright white orbs which looked so familiar. It only took a split second for Kyon to see the outlining of a humanoid type monster in the darkness.

There it was, another one of those terrible creatures. It looked just like the one in the police station. Huge milky white eyes that glowed in the darkness, six inch claws, orange skin that appears to be stretched over its body in the most macabre way possible. Indeed, yet another one of Kyon's nightmares has returned to visit him.

Kyon reacted immediately by shooting his pistol instinctively. Naturally, he missed but did not take the time to fire again. He ran off down the aisle, allowing his flashlight to illuminate the way. The monster on the ground scurried after him without hesitation.

Just as Kyon made it halfway to the other side of the car did he see two more monsters jump from behind the seats on the left side and begin pursuing him. This only led Kyon to pick up his pace. He heard a loud scream from behind, it sounded similar to hearing someone cry out during the midst of a murder. A brutal, sadistic murder.

Kyon quickly grabbed a hold of the handle on the metal door, and proceeded to throw it open in a panic. As he was halfway out the door, he felt four long claws slice him along the back in a rather painful manner. Regardless of the stinging pain of a fresh cut, Kyon ran out leaped across to the next car in the line. He was able to get this door open easily and rushed inside the new car. It was fully lit unlike the last car which had no light inside.

Kyon then dropped his pistol and flashlight before proceeding to turn around and attempted to slide the door close. Just as he was about to shut the door, the first monster chasing him was able to catch up with him in time and lung at him. Kyon shut the door as hard as he could but only succeeded in slamming it on the monster's forearm.

The monster began swiping at Kyon. He could see one of its huge white eyes staring at him from the other side of the door. Kyon held the metal door in place to keep the monster from pushing his way into the car where he could tear Kyon's head off.

Even though Kyon did not realize it due to his struggling with the monsters who were trying desperately to get to him. Ryoko was in this car. She heard the commotion from the other end of the car and turned to see what was happening.

She spotted Kyon holding the door closed and she was also able to catch a glimpse of the monster's hand as it continued to swipe at him, still determined to cut him badly.

"Kyon," she announced in surprise.

He naturally did not respond to Ryoko since he was too busy keeping the monsters from rushing into the train car. Ryoko quickly ran over to assist him. If anything, she could help Kyon crush the monster's arm with the door. However, she did not notice that someone else stood up from a seat to the very front of the car.

It was a young man in a red hooded jacket and wore a blank drama mask over his face. He also carried a bow saw in his right hand. The same person she was looking for this whole time, Brandon. She knew he was on the train. She was just speaking with him, or rather, she was speaking to him while he remained silent and practically ignored her as if she did not exist.

Ryoko ran towards Kyon and proceeded to help him keep the door closed by pushing against the force brought on by the monsters. Brandon casually walked up to them as if nothing major was happening. Then again, he did not see these creatures as much of a threat.

As soon as he was in range, Brandon shoved Kyon back a little bit just to keep him out of his way, but at the same time he did not want to throw Kyon completely out of the way since it would not be a good idea to let the monsters in.

"Wha," Kyon began in confusion, having no idea who Brandon was.

The man in the mask did not stop to even acknowledge Kyon was there. He simply grabbed a hold of the monster's wrist with his left hand. Then with Brandon's right hand, he raised the bow saw over the creature's arm and cut into it. The monster howled in pain as Brandon began sawing through it. He moved the bow saw back and forth, blood spilled from the monster's wound while the blade of the saw moved deeper.

It took Brandon no time at all to reach bone. He continued to cut through the marrow while the monster screamed louder and louder. Within a few moments, Brandon had completely sawed through the monster's arm. He cut through the last sliver of skin at the bottom of the arm before allowing it to fall to the ground. This caused Kyon and Ryoko to push the door forward, shutting it completely.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the monster on the outside was still standing on the link. When the door closed, the monster threw itself backwards and fell of the train. It was then promptly crushed under the train wheels in a gory mess.<p>

There were three other monsters watching their comrade from the sidelines. The first two, Kyon had seen himself when he was ambushed, the third must have chased him from an unseen vantage point. There were plenty of them in that dark train corner they were waiting in.

As soon as they realized their fellow creature of the night was dead, they immediately leaped forward in unity and grabbed on to the wall of the train car Kyon and the others were currently in. They could not get through the metal door obviously. But that would not stop them from climbing all over the exterior of the car to see if they could not find an easy way in.

They all climbed up the wall and quickly made their way to the roof of the car. The monsters crawled onto the roof, gaining a firm grip on it so they would not fly off due to the wind which was pressing against them rather aggressively.

The monsters would have scattered and ran about the train car had a figure standing before them not caused them to freeze in position. The three demons looked forward to catch a better glimpse of this rather huge figure there in the distance.

It had no trouble standing against the wind. It had dark brown fur covering its body. This creature was much larger than the average human and huge in comparison to the scrawny, five foot tall monsters now confronting it.

It wore a brown tarp over its legs and had a brown, leather satchel hanging from its right side. The creature also had bright white teeth, and had the overall appearance of a large primate. Of course, this creature was Grendel.

He had chased Brandon across that little town. Brandon was able to board a train and escape. However, Grendel was not that easy to escape from entirely. He knew Brandon all too well. Grendel knew Brandon better than his own parents did before they passed away for unknown causes. So naturally, it would be easy for Grendel to pursue Brandon.

The monsters were hesitant at first about attacking a creature as large as Grendel was. It was not normally in their instinct to attack something larger than they were unless they were either desperate for survival, or if they knew they had a clear shot at killing it. Grendel on the other hand, stared at them without a single hint of intimidation in his eyes.

It did not take a long time for the monsters to make their discussion. The one sitting in the middle of the group abruptly lunged at the large Sasquatch-esque entity. The monster would realize it was a huge mistake, but only when it was too late.

Grendel waited for the monster to get closer. He watched as it crawled quickly after him. As soon as the monster was within his range, he stomped on it with his massive right foot. The monster cried out as its ribcage was smashed between Grendel's foot and the roof of the train. Grendel then suddenly reached down and grabbed the monster's left arm. Without warning, Grendel promptly pulled the arm off and threw it off the train. Grendel then moved his foot back to its original position, allowing the monster to bleed to death.

In a panic, the other two monsters ran after Grendel. The furry creature quickly moved forward, grabbing the first monster by the arm and hoisting him in the air. Grendel then proceeded to slam the monster on the ground which caused its head to split open.

Grendel tossed that useless corpse to the side and waited for the last monster to attack him. However, this monster was just about to lung at Grendel when it lost its courage and tried to run off. Grendel was unfortunately too quick for the monster. He grabbed it by the leg and pulled it back towards himself. Grendel then reached forward and grabbed the monsters head. He pulled it off as if it were the lid to a soda bottle. After the head was completely removed from the now mutilated corpse, Grendel tossed it off the train. Just as the monster's body was thrown to the side, it hit a nearby street pole which produced a loud metallic thud.

* * *

><p>Back inside the train, Kyon was sitting against the wall. That thousand yard stare returned to his face. Yet again, he was absolutely horrified by the creatures of the night. His back burned where those monsters scratched him. Ryoko was sitting against the wall next to him while Brandon had returned to his seat several yards away.<p>

"So, the monsters scratched you," Ryoko asked. She only had a light smile on her face. She was beginning to not feel the desire to smile anymore. It had only been a few hours. She has yet to learn anything definitive about the situation, but she was already losing hope. Kyon had given up already, but was still willing to follow Ryoko's lead.

Kyon did not answer her. He stared at his feet, ignoring what Ryoko was saying. He kept quiet which was completely unlike him as well. He tried to ignore the pain of those gashes in his back as best as possible, but he was ultimately unsuccessful at that as well.

"I'll find something for those wounds in a minute," Ryoko informed in a surprisingly flat tone of voice. "The last thing I need is you to die of some horrible infection." With that Ryoko stood up and was about to go and visit with Brandon. The primary reason she and Kyon even boarded the train to begin with.

"Wait," Kyon murmured which caused Ryoko to stop in her tracks and turn to him curiously.

"Could you act normally," Kyon asked randomly which Ryoko found to be peculiar. She had no idea what he was referring to.

"What do you mean?"

"You always act so cheerfully," Kyon informed in an emotionless and slightly tired tone. "Creepy, but energetic. Act that way from now on."

It was clear that Kyon obviously needed to see some other emotion other than fear around him. There was plenty of fear to go around, but he certainly did not enjoy it. Ryoko found it surprising that he even noticed her sudden change in personality. This was only because she was losing hope and succumbing to the same fear Kyon had already fallen victim to.

Ryoko almost did not want to smile and act the way she usually did. Just as Kyon had stated, she was creepy but energetic. Yet what was the purpose of being energetic in a world where nothing remained sacred, where everything was at the beginning stages of decay. It was only now that Ryoko began to feel this atmosphere. She felt as if for some reason, there was no purpose to even hunt down the cause of all these strange occurrences. It was not like they could change anything that has already happened. Monsters where everywhere and the sun was gone.

Kyon had apparently already given up on this whole ordeal, and Ryoko could not blame him. However, it was only now that she was beginning to feel, slightly more humane. Ironically, at this point, being humane was only a weakness.

Regardless, she allowed that unsettling yet familiar smile to break out across her face. She then leaned down to try and see Kyon's face but was ultimately unsuccessful since his hair was now shielding it from her.

"Alright Kyon," she stated cheerfully. "I'll be as normal as possible. Now, I'm going to go up there and speak with that guy in the mask. His name is Brandon. I'll tell you more about him later, but for now I have to ask him a few questions. He's the one we've been looking for. If you want you can just wait here. Believe it or not but like I said before, I don't think Haruhi is behind this. I think this is his doing."

Kyon did not say a word in response. Ryoko stood upright once more and turned around. She walked off towards Brandon who was not so much as looking in her direction. He stared out the window, watching the lights of abandoned towns and the tree lines of dark forests roll by. He found that he world outside had an ominous beauty to it when it was not busy or active with people going about their daily lives. That seemed to drastically ruin the atmosphere that every planet naturally has. The same atmosphere that resides in a ghost town.

Ryoko came to a stop just to the side of Brandon. He still did not look at her. This would only highlight how much of a lack of interest he had in other people. Ryoko on the other hand, being the out going, sick little person she was still wished to have a few words with the masked man in the chair.

"Pardon me," she said politely. "But as I was saying earlier, my name is Ryoko Asakura. I know that your name is Brandon..." she cut herself off and pointed to the masked individual. She did not know his last name and was hoping the would illuminate her on such. Of course, Brandon said not a word to her.

"Well, anyway," Ryoko continued. She was unfazed by his lack of communication. She was still as friendly and cheerful as possible. "You've seen what's going on out there, and you're the only other person we've run into all day. I know you ran into some trouble with the Espers and DITE."

As soon as Ryoko said that, Brandon shot a glare at her. Ryoko then felt satisfied that she was undoubtedly on the right track. She would have to be careful though. She absolutely did not want to end up like that monster Brandon 'dealt with' earlier.

"I also am aware of everything they did to you," Ryoko stated and deviously tilted her head to the right. "So maybe my friend Kyon and I can offer a favor in exchange for some information on this situation. If you tell me how you've done all this and how to stop it, I'll tell you where Koizumi and Nagato are. You know... the ones who ruined your life? Now, how does that sound?"

While Ryoko was making a deal with a masked devil, Kyon was still sitting in that same spot against the back door, thinking to himself.

"_This is ridiculous_," he thought. Kyon appeared to be gaining a second wind. He was beginning to force a wave of hope through his mind. "_I should be up there helping her. Why am I sulking here? Surely this situation can be sorted out by Nagato. I just wish Ryoko would let me go see her. She could have everything fixed in no time." In hindsight, Kyon put way too much faith in Yuki, but at least he was building more confidence during this eternal night._"

Kyon watched as Ryoko continued to speak with Brandon who was not being of any help at all to her. "_Fine_," he told himself and let out a long sigh. "_I'll give her a hand with that Brandon guy up there. I doubt he has anything to do with this, but he looks pretty weird so I suppose it's a start. I just hope that idiot Ryoko doesn't make him mad. I really don't want to be dismembered on this train._"

His brain quickly moved to the topic of Ryoko who he was currently looking at. "_Why did I ask her that_," he questioned himself. "_I don't need to see her usual attitude to make light of the situation. Now, I bet she won't even take my threats seriously. Maybe I should shoot her in the leg when we get off the train. Then she'll know I'm not turning into her friend._"

With nothing left to actually think about Kyon stood up, but immediately regretted that decision as he felt a stinging in his back. "_Damn, those things cut me deep_," he thought. "_Ryoko was right for once. I should be on the look out for some sort of disinfectant._"

Kyon then proceeded to head over to where Ryoko and Brandon where at.

"You're not very talkative are you," Ryoko asked in mocking pout. When she realized looking cute would not work on the void that is Brandon. She let out a defeated sigh. Kyon walked up just as Ryoko was about to give up.

"Hi," Kyon greeted. "My name is..."

"I already told him your name is Kyon," Ryoko stated and gave him a warm smile which was probably a response to Kyon's last request which she seemed to be taking quite literally.

"My name isn't Kyon," he argued and gritted his teeth at the unfazed Ryoko.

"Whatever," Ryoko stated and waved him away dismissively. "Kyon, this is Brandon. Now, several years ago we were investigating him due to some odd connection he has with miss Suzumiya. I won't go into now, but Koizumi and miss Nagato both did some rather disturbing things to him in the process. I know he's probably looking for them now, but he won't say anything."

"Wait," Kyon asked in bewilderment. He almost did not believe what Ryoko was saying. "What could Koizumi and Nagato do? They wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"They wouldn't," Ryoko questioned with a lifted eyebrow. She then turned to Brandon who was still looking out that window of his.

"Forgive my friend," she requested. "He actually does not know the situation they've put you in. However, as I said before, if you could just tell us what you did then I would gladly give you the addresses of where they live."

Brandon suddenly turned to face Ryoko. He then lunged forward and grabbed her by the neck before bringing his bow saw up and aiming the blade at her face. Ryoko did not have time to react and was forced to stand there without a means of defending herself.

Kyon on the other hand, was able to react and stepped in between the two. He promptly pushed Brandon off of Ryoko and stepped in front of her.

"Calm down," he requested to try and ease the situation. Kyon most certainly did not want to make enemies at a time such as this. He had a really bad feeling something like this would happen. Ryoko was not the most diplomatic of individuals even though she saw herself as such. He just knew she would end up provoking him in someway or another.

Brandon scolded him from behind his mask. He reluctantly relaxed himself. This relieved Kyon to now end since he was dreading that Brandon would lung for Ryoko again.

The man in the coat then lowered his bow saw and attached it to his pants with a small metal clip on one of the belt loops to the right side of his waste. He then abruptly walked forward, pushing both Ryoko and Kyon out of his way. The two watched as he slowly and silently made his way towards the disembodied arm on the floor where Kyon was previously sitting. That entire area was now covered in the blood of that monster.

"What are you doing," Kyon asked with a puzzled expression. "Can you say something? Anything at all?"

Brandon naturally ignored him and instead, he kneeled down in front of the arm. He dipped his finger into the puddle of blood on the floor before moving it to another area of the floor which was not covered in the red goop that symbolized death.

Brandon then began writing something out with it. Ryoko and Kyon approached him after they noticed what he was doing. Brandon would occasionally reach over and dip his hand in the blood again such as an artist would after his paintbrush ran dry.

It would not take him but a few more minutes to complete his little work of art. Once Brandon was finished, he stood up and stepped away from the illustration of blood on the floor. Kyon and Ryoko then moved forward to inspect the work he had done.

The blood on the ground did not resemble a picture or symbol of some sort. Instead, Brandon wrote out a few sentences on the ground.

"_I wish I could talk to people this way_," Kyon thought to himself. "_Just write everything out in blood. Then everyone would respect me. That or fear me. It works either way._"

Kyon quickly wiped the thought out of his mind and returned his attention to the floor. The words in blood read:

'_I did nothing wrong now, nor have I ever. I am after the Esper and synthetic human, but I would never make a deal with someone as shady as the girl with the blue hair. I also am not familiar with this person named Suzumiya. Now leave me at peace. I want nothing to do with you._'

"I'm not shady," Ryoko retorted with an offended smile. "Kyon, am I shady," she asked and instantly regretted asking him of all people.

"Yeah, you're a little bit ominous," Kyon stated, only halfway interested in the question. She was surprised he did not start ranting about how 'ominous' she was, but she did not mind his lack of attention on the matter.

"Alright Brandon," Ryoko sighed. She was clearly ready to concede in defeat. "If you no nothing about the situation then I'm sorry for bothering you. Good luck on whatever it is you plan on doing.

Ryoko then walked away. She sat down in a nearby seat. Kyon gave one last glance to Brandon before following her. He took his seat next to her while Brandon stood up and proceeded to return to his seat up at the front of the car.

"Ryoko," he asked curiously. "Do you really think he doesn't have anything to do with what's happening just because he said he doesn't? And why is he after Nagato and Koizumi?"

"Oh, he has his reasons," Ryoko stated with a random giggle that served no apparent purpose since nothing particularly funny was happening. "It's not surprising that they would never tell anyone about such a dark point in history. Remind me and I'll tell you later. It might change your opinion about miss Nagato and Koizumi entirely."


	6. Sick World

**Sick World**

A few hours would pass after the train came to a halt. Brandon left to do whatever he was planning on doing while Kyon and Ryoko returned to Kyon's home. They were currently sitting in his empty room with the overhead light shining brightly over them.

Kyon was lying on his bed staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression while Ryoko was sitting in a chair on the opposite side of his room. She sat at his desk and looked up to the clock on the wall where she smiled brightly at it and kept repeated the phrase "_Tick tock, tick tock_." She kept repeating this phrase over and over again, perfectly synchronizing herself with the ticking of the clock as the hands moved forward.

"Shut up," Kyon finally ordered after he had heard enough of Ryoko's annoying sound effects.

Ryoko turned to him, silencing herself in the process and narrowed her eyes in slight annoyance. Ironically, she was annoyed by him ordering her to stop being so insufferable. She then rolled her eyes and turned back to the clock without so much as making a reply to Kyon. Her eyes were growing heavy by every passing minute. Ryoko then let out a rather obnoxious yawn and stretched her arms for a brief moment.

"_Kyon_," she sang in a teasing tone. Kyon obviously did not find her singing his name to be very amusing and did not so much as look at her. He continued to watch the motionless ceiling while Ryoko continued to speak with him.

"I'm getting tired so why don't you let me take over the bed for a few hours," she questioned politely. "I'm sure you have other things to do than sit around here all day. Don't you need to figure out where your little clown posse ran off to?"

Kyon sighed and stood up off his bed. He glared at Ryoko for a few silent minutes before turning away. "Whatever," he stated halfheartedly. "I'll just go get something to eat. I won't leave though. We'll go find them later. Besides, even if I do leave, I'll still have to come back to wake you up. Didn't you say people have to be woken up by force or else they'll be asleep forever?"

"Right, about that," Ryoko said with her usual smile. "Keep in mind that thought is only a theory. You shouldn't take it so seriously at the moment. After all your friends woke up did they not?" Ryoko then turned in Kyon's seat and looked towards her new friend with a rather unreadable grin. "Tell you what. Nagato's apartment isn't that far from here. Why don't you go and see if she's there. Or if she even made it that far. She probably did. If you can survive alone walking from here all the way to my apartment then she's probably still alive."

Kyon gave Ryoko a cynical glare. There was still one problem with her this little plan of hers that she has yet to address. "Alright then," Kyon replied and crossed his arms. "Then what about you? It'll take awhile for me to get there and back, especially when I'm also having to hide from the monsters. So how are you going to wake up? Don't you think I should probably stay here? If anything you should be more worried about the monsters finding a way in my house while you're asleep. They could easily get through the air vents in the attic, or break one of the windows downstairs where you can't even hear it."

Ryoko blinked at him in confusion. She was clearly not as worried about it as he was. "Aw," she teased with obvious sarcasm. "Kyon, are you worried about me? How sweet. And here I thought you hated my guts, and would enjoy seeing me be eaten alive."

"Then die here, I don't care," Kyon retorted without emotion which only succeeded in making Ryoko laugh rather than causing her offense.

"Relax," she said with a dismissive wave. "I'm going to set your alarm to wake up in a few hours. You actually should return before the alarm goes off because I like to sleep in. Other than that, I'm not worried about those monsters finding a way in the house. When we arrived you checked on your parents and your sister. They're all still sleeping ever so soundly. If the monsters were going to enter your house, they would have done it already. I don't think they're to interested in your boring little family."

"Fine," Kyon retorted and abruptly walked out of the room. He proceeded down the stairs but did not even stop in the kitchen. He was hungry but he would eat when he returned. Instead he headed straight for the front door.

He stepped outside and shut the door behind himself. He made sure it was sealed shut before he suddenly heard something moving around to his right. Kyon quickly turned around and threw himself backwards as he noticed one of those horrid creatures crawling towards him. He fell into a sitting position while the monster advanced on his position without a single hint of hesitation. It would be no time at all before the beast was right on top of Kyon.

Instinctively, he kicked the monster in the neck which sent it tumbling backwards a good few feet. While trembling, Kyon slowly began scooting away from the monstrosity. He looked in the direction it landed to see if he could not gain a better view of the monster.

Just like all the other creatures he had seen so far, this one was no different in appearance. As it struggled to stand up it glared at Kyon with those huge milky white eyes. It had a set of memorable 6 inch claws on its hands. Although, as Kyon was able to get a closer look at the creature, he realized that one of those claws, specifically on the right index, the claw was broken off.

The monster slowly stood up and staggered around for a few moments. It inhaled and exhaled deeply to try and catch up with its long lost breath. Kyon was to shaken with fear to move. He simply watched as the monster tried to recover from that very well placed kick. Eventually, the monster shifted its attention, and glared at Kyon in a rather threatening manner. Without any warning, the monster then abruptly turned toward the opposite direction and ran off into the shadows.

These monsters had a very intriguing nature, it would seem that even when Kyon appeared rather helpless and an easy target, they still did not like to charge a man head on. Or at least, not when they are alone. The only reason that monster even attacked Kyon rather than watching him from the shadows was probably because it was at an angle where the beast could have very easily surprised Kyon by sneaking up on him.

Of course, Kyon was not very interested in their actions at the moment. He sat there on the ground for a few moments, waiting to see if that monster would return anytime soon with friends. Fortunately, this did not happen and after about five minutes of lying on the ground, Kyon finally worked up the courage to stand on his feet once more.

"_Great_," Kyon thought sarcastically. "_Should I even leave my house now? That thing knows where I live and is probably retreating to find his little pack. If I were to leave to go see Nagato now, they'd probably just come back and tear up my house looking for me. They'd probably tear up a few other things as well_," he thought and looked up towards the window that marked the location of his room in the house. He considered staying but eventually decided against it.

"_No, there's no point_," Kyon told himself. "_Those monsters will probably lose interest if they don't see me wondering the area. Either that or that little runt will just go off and hide for a little while without actually getting help. I'm sure it'll be fine. Those things most likely won't care if I'm gone. I just can't help but wonder why they're attacking me in the first place. They seem pretty intelligent. It's almost looks like they have the basic social structure and mentality of a wolf. They won't go anywhere alone, if they do they're probably rabid, or they're scouting ahead for the other members of their pack. The only difference between those things and wolves other than anatomy is their aggression levels towards humans. Wolves usually could care less about a human unless their starving. These things just run around killing us. I wonder why that is._"

* * *

><p>Brandon walked alone in the downtown area of the very city which housed Koizumi and Nagato. The same two people that Brandon was looking for. He remained quiet about his intentions, but it was clear they were not very noble in anyway. Of course there was no point in being noble anymore. What was the point in doing anything now? Brandon obviously knew just as well as Kyon and Ryoko did, that trying to save anyone or anything was meaningless. Regardless, Brandon was still seeking after the completion of his own agenda. Whatever that may be.<p>

He kept his head down and his hands in his pockets. Brandon's bow saw was clipped to his waste where he usually kept it when he was not utilizing it for whatever dark scenarios it may prove useful in. He continued to walk along the sidewalk while he watched his feet doing all the work to get him from point A to point B.

"Cast down from heaven we were," a voice abruptly sounded off from afar. Brandon naturally looked up to see who was shouting. The voice itself was of a male's. It was a rather normal sounding voice as well which Brandon considered to be out of place as soon as he got a look at who was actually speaking.

It was not a man at all who was yelling. Instead, Brandon came to a stop as he noticed an odd creature standing about twenty yards down the road. This creature had the head, lower waste, and legs of a horse. It had the torso and arms of a man. This abomination stood tall and firmly against the world. With its left hove extended forward and its hands raised in the air, the monster continued its odd preaching to a nonexistent crowd.

"To all those of zealous minds, I implore thee! Wander into our modest cathedral on the hill! Hear his words, and know his solemn voice! To those rational minds who remain intelligent yet ignorant of our cause, retreat to our sanctuary! For it is there in which thou will find true salvation and everlasting enlightenment! The monstrosity before our eyes are a direct result of the Holy Mother's meddling! For she is the evil that drove our free yet tainted minds into a pit of madness! We ask for thyself to follow our words! Reach salvation through us, for there is nay another path ye may take!"

Brandon was obviously confused by what this monster was speaking about. It sounded as if he was listening to one of those crazy homeless people preaching about the end of the world. However, this would appear to be a more demented version of such an event. Naturally, Brandon was inclined to figure out who this creature was, and what the point was to his mad rambling to an empty street. Did he even know this avenue was completely devoid of people in the first place, or was he simply shouting to the sleeping people of this city?

Brandon then quietly approached the man with the horse's head to see if he could not learn a little more about this ominous entity and the 'cathedral on the hill' which he was referring to. As Brandon grew closer to this odd entity, it suddenly turned to see what business this young man had by approaching him in such a manner.

"Ah, an individual searching for enlightenment as opposed to existing meaninglessly amongst the ignorant masses," the entity asked with a tilt of its horse-like head. "And what might this young fellow's name be? My designation is Orobas, I am a spokesman for the cathedral owned by our true master. The leader who attempted to overthrow our supposed creator and in turn bring prosperity to the heavens and the earth."

Just by saying this last line, Brandon was immediately able to figure out who Orobas was, who is master was, and what their agenda might be. He almost did not believe it. Demons walking the earth? However, Brandon found it easy to accept this as truth since the world was already plunged into a never ending night while it was simultaneously being overwhelmed by a species of horrific monsters which were probably running free across the surface. So, why would demons not be here as well? They too have business on earth now. In a way, Brandon was wondering when these types of entities would start showing up.

Brandon remained quiet and stared at Orobas through his blank opera mask. He then shifted his eyes back in the direction he was originally which lied straight ahead of this insane creature. Orobas became more interested in who Brandon was and just when the masked young man was about to walk away, Orobas stopped him.

"Pardon me good sir," Orobas began politely. "But I simply must request that thou retreat to the temple on the hill. It will provide safety for ye and his family. I plead you to find salvation among my comrades as well. They wait on the hill for the very moment when we are able to finally liberate ourselves and humanity from Haruhi's oppressive grasp."

Orobas was definitely a charismatic fellow indeed. Brandon was impressed and gave a light bow of his head to the spirit from Hades. Perhaps another time, but at the moment, Brandon was concerned with only one thing. He simply had to find Itsuki Koizumi and Yuki Nagato if he was to have a hope of achieving his twisted little dreams that now played out like the clips on a television in his mind.

With clearly nothing left for Orobas to say that would actually convince Brandon, the silent and enigmatic man in the mask then waved to Orobas, as if wishing him luck and walking away. Orobas was slightly disappointed by such an event but he did not give up, nor was he discouraged from swaying the masses to lean for his dark agenda.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Haruhi was lying on her bed in her own room. She stared up at the ceiling in the exact same way Kyon was doing before he left. She was exhausted from wandering around aimlessly all night but at the same time, she was too fearful to fall asleep. She had no idea what was happening. The clock read 5:30PM yet it was still dark outside. Haruhi had walked from Kyon's house to her own yet she had not seen a single soul on her way here. She even went out of her way to search for someone but nobody was present.<p>

However, this was not the only problem Haruhi was dealing with. She was deeply disturbed for another reason. For about half the way over here, she had been chased by a pack of those hideous monsters. She finally lost their trail and immediately ran home. She had been lying here on her bed with all the lights off ever since.

* * *

><p>It would not be too much longer before Kyon reached the proper floor Nagato lived on in her apartment building. Aside from that one run in with a monster just outside of his house, he had no trouble finding this place. It was kind of far from his home but he still managed to find his way just fine.<p>

Kyon was currently in an elevator that had just stopped on the floor he requested. The metal doors opened up to reveal an empty yet well light hallway. It was more unsettling to see a fully light hallway than it was to see a dark hallway. As Kyon looked at it, this place looks more alive with the lights on, where as if the lights are off, he at least feels he is all alone. Now that the lights were on, he could not shake the unsettling feeling that not only could the monsters see him, but he felt as if they were actually around. This was only an odd thought process of his, in actuality, he was beginning to question why he hated the light himself.

Kyon then began walking towards the door which would lead him to Yuki's apartment. It was close now. Kyon looked to the right hand wall while he occasionally glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was running up behind them. For some very strange reason, Kyon still had not taken the hint. He kept his pistol tucked away in his back pocket when he truly did need to have it at the ready when he was walking through an unknown area such as this. One would think he would have realized this after one of the monsters had lunged at him from out of nowhere when he was least expecting it. In fact, that was how all of his run ins with the monsters happened. He had no idea what was coming for him and when it finally arrived, it was by mere luck that he was able to either kill them or run away.

It would appear that one of these moments would happen right now. As Kyon continued his searching through the empty apartment complex, a metal grate just above him on the ceiling and slightly behind his currently location, abruptly fell down to the ground. This naturally caused Kyon to jump and turn around. He instinctively reached for the handle of his pistol which conveniently poked out of his pocket for such an event. This made it easier for him to grab hold of it. Just as he pulled his pistol out of his pocket, he took notice in a pair of large white orbs watching him from the darkness of the now open air duct.

With hesitation, Kyon slowly and very shakily aimed his pistol up in the air, directly towards the pair of glowing white orbs. It was clear that the creature was readying itself to pounce on Kyon. Luckily for the rather terrified lad, he was able to fire two shots at the air vent. Naturally, the first one missed due to his lack of skill at using a fire arm. By a mere stroke of luck, Kyon was able to hit the monster directly in the head with the second shot. He flinched each time the weapon produced a 'bang.' For his untrained ears, it felt as if he was hearing an explosion. However, he was at least surprised by how quiet the gun was. While he did flinch he was never truly bothered by the sound it produced. This was only due to the fact that he was so close to the weapon. If he was standing a few feet away as someone else shot, it would be significantly louder.

The monster began bleeding, that red goop showered down as if it was a water fall. Fortunately, Kyon was out of its way. The monster's limp corpse then fell out of the vent and onto the ground just on top of the grate that now lied on the ground.

Kyon jumped as he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps approaching him from behind. Kyon then turned around. To much of his dismay, he spotted two more of the humanoid creatures running at him from down the hall. They were not crawling as they usually did but instead the ran on their two legs to catch up to him as quickly as possible.

Kyon raised his pistol instinctively and began randomly firing in a panic. He fired an uncountable number of shots. Most of them missed completely. One of the rounds even flew straight into a water cooler which caused the gallon on the machine to explode. Luckily Kyon was able to hit one of the monsters in the chest twice. This caused the monster to throw itself backwards where it proceeded to die in a more painful manner which was a result of both the creatures lungs begin damaged beyond repair.

As for the second monster, it continued to run at Kyon. It either did not realize that its two comrades were both killed or it felt it had no other option but to charge at Kyon and hope to kill him before he killed it. However, things would not turn out so well for the monster as it was abruptly hit in the neck by a stray bullet. The monster ran for a few more steps before it came to a sudden halt. It stood their for a split second before it finally collapsed to its knees. It then fell forward on the ground, lifeless and dead.

Kyon was definitely breathing heavily in exhaustion at this point. His heart was racing and his blood had already ran cold with fear. He allowed himself to collapse into a sitting position on the ground and dropped his weapon.

He felt a sense of much needed relief overwhelm his body. Kyon allowed himself to let out a long and tired sigh. After this he would definitely need to take a short nap at least. Having to confront these monsters was beginning to tax him on a mental level just as much as it was on a physical level. His fear was just as tiring as the amount of exertion he used when fighting these unexplainable entities of the night.

As Kyon continued to rest there on the ground, he heard one of the doors on the right hand side of the hall opened up. He looked back to see the door directly behind him was open, and a familiar young esper of all people was watching him from the barely opened door. Itsuki had a confused expression on his face at first but when he analyzed the scene before him which consisted of several dead monsters and a weakened Kyon sitting on the floor, he immediately figured out what had happened here.

"Kyon," he greeted with that normal smile of his. "I was wondering when you would show up again. I awoke in your room to find that everyone was gone. I went out to search for you and Haruhi. The only people I could find were Miss Asahina and Miss Nagato. They're both inside right now, come on in. I'd actually like to show you something you might find to be rather interesting."

"Okay," the young man sitting on the ground breathed in exasperation. "I was actually looking for Nagato as well," he explained and picked his weapon up. He then placed it in his back pocket where it belonged and stood up. "Did she ever figure out why the sun hasn't come up yet, and why these monsters are suddenly running around all over the place?"

"No," Itsuki replied with a look of disappointment on his face. "You really need to step inside for a few moments. Once you see the situation I've been dealing with you'll understand what's actually going on with these two."

Kyon walked forward and came to a stop just in front of Koizumi. "Wait, what's happened to Nagato and Asahina? They aren't hurt are they?"

"Well, not physically," Itsuki responded. "Just come inside. You'll see for yourself."

With nothing left to do or say, Kyon simply nodded. Itsuki then stepped aside and pushed the door open completely, allowing Kyon entrance into Nagato's apartment. He was beginning to grow even more suspicious. "_Just what the hell is he referring to_," Kyon asked himself. He then turned and looked inside the apartment. He could not see anything from the angle the door was positioned at which made him all the more curious. "_Well I guess I'll find out._"

* * *

><p>At a park towards the center of town and in the same neighborhood as the schools, Brandon stood in between two large trees. The park was rather hilly and covered in grass. There were only a few places where sidewalks were present. Another detail about this park was a small pond located towards the center of the field.<p>

Brandon did not take his eyes off of the pond. In fact, he even reached for his bow saw. He removed the saw from his waste and held it out defensibly as if he was expecting something to come running at him any minute.

After a few moments of studying the treeline in the back and watching the shadows, Brandon clipped his bow saw back to the belt loop at his waste. He then relaxed himself and shoved his hands into his coat pockets. Brandon then proceeded forward in the direction of the pond. He came to a stop just as he reached the water line. As he did this, the area around him began to light up as if it was daytime.

Brandon remained quiet and emotionless as this happened. While the area around Brandon lit up, every other location on the planet was completely pitch black. At a random moment during this odd time, Brandon heard the laughter of two children playing just a few feet away behind him. He calmly turned around and looked to the ground silently.

There at his feet was two toddlers. The one to the right had thick brown hair and wore a yellow ribbon in her hair. Brandon watched this little girl for a few moments. He only needed to see her. He already knew who the little boy was. That little boy was none other than a younger version of Brandon himself. This was one of the many things Brandon had to deal with. Instead of having memories play out in his mind, he had to see them happen in hallucinations right in front of his eyes.

The two children were laughing rather than talking. This was one thing Brandon wished he could remember. What was he speaking about with this little girl? Brandon desperately wanted to kill her. She was the only reason Grendel existed. The only reason he was put through such a horrible life. It all began right here in this insignificant playground. The place he met this girl which would also be the last, was also the first time he met Grendel. However, unlike his encounter with the mystery girl, this park would not be the last place Grendel and Brandon would meet.

As Brandon wondered what her name could be. As he tried to figure out what she might have said to him in those early years of his life. If he could only figure this out, he would be able to find out where she lives. That is, if she was even still alive.

Brandon would have pondered more on this confusing topic, but he was suddenly distracted by unexpected movement which he spotted out of the corner of his eye. Brandon looked up towards the road and sure enough, the very creature in question was standing there under a streetlamp just on the outside of the playground. Grendel watched Brandon with murderous intent. Brandon in turn was giving Grendel a very sour look from underneath his mask.

The two great enemies often stared at each other in this manner. They both hated each other equally and wanted nothing more than for the other party to know the full extent of this bitter resentment and hatred. Brandon had plenty of reasons to despise Grendel. However, it was unclear why Grendel detested Brandon so much. It would appear as if Grendel's one and only purpose for existing was to drive Brandon mad. If this was true, then Grendel had already succeeded.

* * *

><p>A few blocks away from this old park sat a classical theater in which plays would occasionally be put on for the citizens living in this area. The theater itself was empty as expected during the late hours of the night. However, this did not mean the entire building was completely empty. In one of the dressing rooms backstage, a lone figure sat at one of the tables were actresses would apply make up before a play. This figure was nothing more than a preformed skeleton wearing a classical set of Shakespearean style robes.<p>

Standing behind this skeleton was Enigma, the same creature Kyon had met on the train ride. Enigma watched as the unnamed skeleton continued to preform a more demented operation at the abandoned make up table.

At the moment, the table was covered in blood. This blood could halfway be explained just by looking to the ground. There at the skeletons feet was a dead woman. All of her fingers had been cut off and her throat had been slit. On the table, the skeleton was busy 'operating' on the newly dismembered fingers which were only recently stolen from that lady who now lied dead on the floor. The skeleton held the left ring finger in his boney hand while in his right hand, he held a metal rod which appeared to be connected to something seeing as how there was an electrical cord attached to the bottom of the rod.

On the other end of this rod was a metal ball. The skeleton moved the round end of the metal rod towards the finger which he held up so that the bone and bloody flesh was aimed at the rod. Soon the rod and the bone of this finger were almost touching. Just when they were about to connect, a spark of electricity shot out from the rod and into the bone. This in turn caused the nerves of this finger to abruptly twitch for a spit second before the finger moved back to its original position.

"Good sir," Enigma interrupted from behind. The skeleton did not stop his research at the sound of intrusion, he simply shrugged his boney shoulders, allowing Enigma to continue with what he was originally going to say.

"Would you mind telling me what it is that thou is doing?"

"Art, my dear Enigma," the skeleton muttered quietly in an average sounding male tone. "Art, and only art."


	7. Angel

**Angel**

Kyon stepped into Yuki's living room. He was taken aback by the sight of seeing Yuki sitting on the ground in front of several television monitors. Mikuru was off in the background keeping to herself. She was sitting there in a dark corner staring into space as if she had shell shock. Seeing as how Mikuru did not even acknowledge Kyon as he walked into the room, it was very possible that she was not all there mentally.

Itsuki walked up behind Kyon and came to a stop just before he bumped into him. "Nagato has been watching those TVs since I got here. She hasn't said much and each time I ask her about what's going on outside, she doesn't answer me."

"Nagato," Kyon questioned, ignoring what Itsuki was saying. He would much rather see if he could not get Nagato to talk himself. "What are you doing?" This was a pointless question since Kyon could see what she was doing, he merely could not figure out why she was doing it. There on each television screen was a different image of someone being tortured, killed, or both. Kyon recognized some of these scenes brutal to be part of familiar horror movies, but there was two or there other screens that were depicting some very realistic scenes that were most likely not in horror movies. This only added to the creepy atmosphere in Yuki's room.

"I'm teaching myself to feel fear," Yuki said flatly while she kept her eyes on the screen. Kyon was halfway expecting her to explain this more thoroughly, but she did not. Kyon glanced over to where Asahina was still sitting against the wall. She still was not so much as looking at him.

Kyon was surprisingly growing rather annoyed with Nagato. Kyon already knew what was going on. Yuki probably did not even care about the events outside. In actuality, she appeared to be malfunctioning, and malfunction at the wrong time as well. "I don't have time for this," Kyon suddenly announced harshly and turned around. "I'm leaving. Do whatever you want."

* * *

><p>It would be no time at all before Ryoko found herself waking up to the sound of shattering glass. She had turned off all the lights before she went to sleep. She had only been in a sleep state for around an hour. Kyon of course left an hour and half ago. Ryoko woke up in confusion. She looked around before she heard more rummaging around in Kyon's house.<p>

"What is that," Ryoko questioned as she finally came to, and realized that she probably was not alone in the house. She already knew Kyon's other family members were here, but they were asleep and not going to wake up anytime soon. She thought for a moment that Kyon might have returned home, but after listening to what was causing these odd bumps in the night, Ryoko knew it could not have been him.

She then stood up and walked over to the door. Ryoko slowly opened it up and poked her head outside. She immediately threw herself back inside and shut the door as quickly yet as quietly as she could when she spotted several of those long clawed creatures patrolling the halls. From what she could tell in that short glimpse, they appeared to be leaving the bedrooms of Kyon's parents and her little sister. Ryoko already knew they were long from this world by now. The only thing left would be to inform Kyon of this unfortunate event.

Ryoko promptly turned around and quietly made her way to the window on the other side of Kyon's bedroom. Ryoko grabbed a hold of the window and pulled it open. She glanced over her shoulder after the window was completely pushed up just to make sure she was not being followed. However, soon as she did this, a loud bang could be heard against the door which was followed by several other bangs all sounding very similar to each other.

Naturally, Ryoko panicked and threw herself out the window. Out of a stroke of luck, a thick patch of brush was positioned directly under her which broke her fall quite nicely. It took her a little while to stand herself upright. She finally did force herself back onto her feet. She looked up one more time to Kyon's window, and let out a worried sigh. She herself could careless about Kyon's family members, but she would be the one to have to break the news to him.

Ryoko then silently turned away and headed to a nearby road and pulled out her phone from one of her shirt pockets. She promptly began dialing Kyon's number along the way to the abandoned road ahead of her.

* * *

><p>Kyon stepped out of Yuki's apartment complex empty handed. Itsuki tried to keep him from leaving, but Kyon merely rolled his eyes and walked away regardless. He came to an abrupt stop as soon as he noticed a group of monsters gathering on the street in front of him. These monsters were far different from the ones he had been seeing prior to this very moment. While at first glance, this group of demented entities appeared to be knights of some sort. They wore armor covering their entire bodies which gave them the outward appearance of humans, but Kyon quickly saw through this when he noticed the hoofed feet each knight had.<p>

Another indicator that these knights were not actually people made itself apparent in their helmets. Kyon spotted a gap in their helms which revealed their mouths, this in turn allowed him to see fangs on two of the monsters. There were 30 of them total. Kyon would have turned tale and ran by now, but something was telling him that these monsters not the same as the long clawed ones he has been facing. For one thing, these entities looked far more advanced than the other monsters. They had armor and swords after all. They also appeared to be communicating with each other, all though it was in an odd language that Kyon could not understand. However, even though he could not comprehend what they were saying, it was obvious that these 30 knights were in a dispute with 8 more identical soldiers who were being thrown to the ground in a more brutal fashion. Kyon then decided to step back, and observe the scene.

Out of the crowd of the 30 knights, one significant monster stepped up to the 8 other knights who were currently being forced to the ground. This monster was not wearing the usual knight's armor as his apparent subordinates were. Instead, this monstrosity had the head of a mule, body along with arms of a man, and the feet of a peacock yet he had the legs of a mule. The creature also had the feathers of a peacock spread out along his backside and a sword was holstered at his waste. This monster's name was Adramelek, and he governed a large number of these mysterious knights as well as managed other more political aspects of whoever the leadership of this group was.

"Proditores," Adramelek questioned in a stern tone. Even though Kyon had no idea, the language he and his subordinates spoke was Latin. That would be their native language all though Adramelek along with some of his other colleagues could speak nearly any language of their choosing.

"Quidem," one of the knights replied from behind. "Nam quod est, perculsi caedebantur," he questioned.

Adramelek placed his hands behind his back and walked up to the enemies now being detained on the ground. "Caedite eos," he ordered in a flat tone. Right after he said this, the knights holding the captives to the ground all simultaneously reached for either a dagger or sword and slit the throats of their captives.

Adramelek would have said something else but he stopped himself as he noticed Kyon standing in the background. Of course, to Adramelek, he was just another nameless human. One of Adramelek's subordinates also noticed this young man and waved him down. "Heus! Super hic," the knight called out to the confused and intimidated young man.

"Silentium," Adramelek interjected. "Quod homo non intelligerent."

The mule headed entity then stepped forward while his subordinate sighed and walked away in disappointment. "Pardon me, good sir," Adramelek stated in clear Japanese which completely contradicted his previous Latin sentences. "But would you mind coming over here for a few moments? Do not threat! We are not fiends of the endless night. I merely wish to ask you a few questions, and nothing more is required from you. My designation is Adramelek. What might yours be?"

Kyon had no problems believing for some reason. Hearing that these monsters had intelligence, that he could speak to them and hold an intelligent conversation with at least one of them was slightly refreshing. It would be a good change of pace to speak to someone who had not gone crazy yet, or at least, Kyon assumed these people were not off their rocker.

They did just executed 8 of their own soldiers, but Kyon was not too quick to judge this action. He assumed they had their reasoning. Regardless of any apparent red flags, Kyon walked up to Adramelek and waved at him. "My name is..." he greeted. He was just about to introduce himself but Adramelek interrupted him.

"You must be Kyon," he announced. Of course, Kyon cringed violently to hear that even the monsters were now calling him by that ridiculous nick name. "The one who often associates himself with Haruhi Suzumiya."

"And how do you know that," Kyon questioned only slightly curious. In reality, he was not surprised at all that this army of monsters knew who Haruhi was. He was more concerned about why he would be so important.

"Well you see," Adramelek explained. "My comrades and I are searching for Suzumiya. She is the fault of all these horrible things. I understand you might be her friend, but you must realize that the night is completely her doing. We are simply here to undo her mistakes. So, if you value your fellow man, you should tell us where Suzumiya is."

Kyon lifted a confused eyebrow at this. He was not sure what was going on just by this very vague statement made by the mule headed entity standing in front of him. Kyon would have inquired about this topic more, but he was interrupted. He fell silent as a familiar ringing sound came from the direction of his pocket. Kyon looked down and reached into the right hand pocket of his pants before he pulled out his phone. "Excuse me," Kyon stated and backed away. Adramelek nodded and turned away before walking off a good distance to give him some privacy over the phone.

He rolled his eyes to see it was only Ryoko calling him. "_I'm literally talking to an army of dark knights from hell_," he told himself. "_Why does she have to interrupt me now of all times?_" Kyon paused his train of thought and glanced over his shoulder to catch a peak of the knights surrounding them. "_Hey_," he continued curiously in his mind. "_I wonder if they actually are all just demons. That would explain a lot. Uh... then again, if they were demons, then they probably would have killed me by now. These guys are friendly, or at least towards me, and I was always told that demons aren't friendly. They must be something else._"

Kyon then snapped himself back to reality as he just remembered his phone was still ringing. Not wanting to waste any more time since it would appear that the mysterious knights were about to leave the area, Kyon quickly pressed the talk button and held the phone up to his ear. "Hello," he questioned in an almost annoyed tone of voice.

"Hey Kyon," Ryoko's familiar voice greeted. One thing that Kyon noticed right off the bat was that her voice sounded more monotone, and oddly unenthusiastic which was very strange for Ryoko's other wise creepily joyous personality. "Uh... where are you right now," she asked in emotions which were unrecognizable in the current tone of voice she was using.

"I just walked out of Yuki's apartment," Kyon informed. "Why what's wrong?" He could tell immediately that something was not right. For one thing, how did Ryoko even wake up? She should still be asleep unless her theory proved itself wrong just now. It was also obvious that she was not pleased at the moment with whatever the situation was that might be bothering her at the moment

"Well, can you meet me at the school," Ryoko asked. "There's something I need to tell you, but I don't want to tell you at your house."

Kyon lifted an eyebrow at the odd request. "_Why on earth would she want to meet at the school_," he asked himself but quickly shook the weird request out of his head and dismissed it as Ryoko's usual insanity. "Alright fine, I'm on my way." He then nearly hung up the phone, but stopped himself as he just realized something.

"Hey, wait a minute," Kyon retorted as he aggressively lifted the phone back up towards his ear. "That school is massive in case you've forgotten. There's thee different floors ya know? Do you care to tell me where I should look for you."

"The cafeteria," Ryoko replied in a quick and sudden outburst before she abruptly hung up the phone without any warning at all. Kyon let out a sigh and placed his phone back in his pocket where it belonged. Adramelek noticed this action out of the corner of his eye and instantly turned around before walking up to Kyon.

"Uh, sorry but I have to go now," Kyon said in an unfortunate tone. "Is there anywhere you guys might be a little later? I would like to finish this conversation, but right now a friend of mine needs my help with something."

"Then you should go," Adramelek replied. "There is a chapel on a hill towards the northernmost point of this city. You can always find us there."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Brandon was hiding himself behind a wall on the inside of an empty store. He was currently positioned towards the right side of a large open window. Brandon slowly poked his head out of the window where he spotted Grendel patrolling the streets from afar. Brandon then turned out into the store to see if he could not find a back entrance. He walked stepped away from the window, knowing that there was no way Grendel could see him when he was deeper inside the dark store. Brandon then headed towards the main desk were transactions were taken.<p>

He then spotted a door just behind the counter. Brandon leaped over the desk and walked up to the door. He pushed it open casually and looked down a narrow corridor. There was a single florescent light switched on in the middle of the hall which allowed him to see everything beyond his current position. There was one door on either side of this tightly enclosed hallway. At the very end of this hall was a turn off that led to a separate part of the building towards the right. However, Brandon also spotted a closed exit door just beyond that turning point.

Wasting no unnecessary time, Brandon began walking through the corridor. Everything was perfectly quiet until he came to the two doors that were position at the center of the hallway on either side. The door to his left was closed off and was also given a restroom label. The one to the right on the other hand was an open maintenance closet. Brandon instinctively turned and looked towards this open doorway. He immediately jumped back as he spotted a pair of bright white eyes staring at him from in the darkness.

Before Brandon could pull out his bow saw, the monster in the small room walked out and into the hall where it was more well lit. It did not make any aggressive moves. It probably would not have attacked while it was all alone, but the monster did not run away fearfully either. Brandon held his bow saw, but did not remove it from the clip on his belt loop due to his overwhelming curiosity over the situation. The monster simply stood there for a few moments. It did not make any sudden movements. In fact for a majority of the time it stood there, it did not make any movements at all.

Suddenly the monster turned and walked away rather slowly. Now, Brandon was completely and utterly confused. The nature of this one particular monster was far different from what he had seen ever since this horrible nightmare began. Brandon watched as the monster walked off ahead ever so slowly and turned as it came to the end of the hall where the corridor made a sharp right hand turn which would lead to an unknown area of the building. Brandon continued to watch as the monster disappeared down that second corridor.

Any sane thinking person would have ran straight for the exit by now. Currently, not only did Brandon have that Grendel creature breathing down his neck, but now he had to deal with an oddly behaving monster. Brandon knew that this type of behavior was never a good sign. In nature, when an animal behaves out of the ordinary, it is usually due to either some form of mad cow disease, rabies, or whatever other aliment there might be which can cause a change in behavior.

It was clear that these monsters were no exception to nature's laws. This lead Brandon to believe that this specific monster must have some sort of disease. It of course did not have to be mad cow or rabies, as far as he knew there could be a whole new line up of illnesses associated with this specific species. An illnesses of that nature would also explain why this monster was not a member of a pack, or at least not one that Brandon was aware of.

After a few moments of hesitation, Brandon finally headed down the corridor and turned to the right just as the monster had done. All he wanted to do was figure out what this creature was doing. Once he had learned that he would leave as quickly as possible.

Brandon soon came to an open area that was presumable used for storage. There was only one light on but it was a small room. Even so it still did not provide proper illumination. The only thing Brandon could see other than a few boxes would be the monster he was searching for. Oddly enough, Brandon spotted this monster holding the lid of a metal garbage can. At the moment, the monster was using its long claws to cut two holes in the lid. After it was finished the monster looked up to Brandon and lifted the lid over its face. The holes it cut matched the location of its eyes. After the monster had hid its face behind the lid, the only thing Brandon could see was a pair of milky white orbs.

Indeed, the monster was mimicking the man with the opera mask. Just like Brandon, now the monster had a mask on its face. For the longest time Brandon stared this monster down who in turn did not move a muscle. He had no idea what this meant or why the monster was mimicking him. However, it was beginning to disturb Brandon even though he did not visibly portray it. Brandon was not frightened by this unusual scene at all, but he was not comfortable in this area anymore either. After awhile, Brandon simply got bored with watching the monster who was clearly going to do nothing more than stare at him right back. Brandon then promptly walked back into the darkness and left through the back exit. Unfortunately this would not solve his problem. A few moments after Brandon left, the monster followed him like a duckling after its mother.

* * *

><p>Kyon would soon arrive to the school he was so familiar with. He was currently standing at the entrance. Kyon walked up to the front doors and attempted to pull them open but they were not cooperating. "<em>I knew this entrance would be locked<em>," he told himself as he backed away from the primary entrance. "_How did Ryoko get in? Um... she probably used a back way._" Kyon then began looking for a proper way into the complex or rather, a way to get around to the backside of the main building.

However, as soon as he looked up, he noticed an open window to one of the classrooms. The only reason he spotted this window was because the light was one. Ryoko must have left it on for him in order to make it easier for him to find another way in the building. "_Great_," Kyon thought to himself. "_Now, how am I suppose to get up there?_"

Kyon would have continued questioning Ryoko's methods until he spotted some scaffolding leading all the way up to that one particular window. Kyon lifted an eyebrow at the unexpectedly obvious way into the building. "_Oh, well isn't that convenient_," Kyon questioned silently. "_Thanks Ryoko._"

* * *

><p>It would be no time at all before Kyon finally made his way up the scaffolding and up to the window. He leaned forward and stepped inside the abandoned classroom which looked to be so full of life a day ago. It was uncomfortably quiet inside the school. The most unsettling thing about this silence was the fact that Kyon knew he was not alone. He already knew Ryoko was somewhere in this place, but he could not shake the bad feeling he was getting from this place.<p>

He knew the school inside and out, he did come here almost every day after all. The only problem was that now, it was far too quiet than what he used to remember. This did not sit well with him, but regardless Kyon simply gritted his teeth in apprehension and moved forward. He headed to the closed door which would lead to the hallway. He looked through the thin glass window which granted him a small cone of vision into the hallway beyond. It was surprisingly well lit outside. Every other light was on in the halls. This in turn made Kyon all the more suspicious. He would be less concerned if he was looking into a thick wall of darkness, but now that he could see everything clearly made him more cautious. The fact that there was nothing moving out there meant that the monsters were most likely hiding in the vents above or somewhere else where he could not see from his current vantage point. "_Hmm_," he thought quietly. "_Looks like its all clear._" With that he pulled his pistol just as a safety precaution and opened the door.

Kyon crept his way out into the hall and checked his left side first. That half of the hall was empty and totally quiet. It was the same type of silence one would expect to hear in a coffin some six feet beneath the earth. Kyon moved his eyes towards the right wall of this section of the hallway where he spotted the staircase he always took to access the base floor of the school where the cafeteria was located. He was about to head off in that direction when he suddenly remembered that he completely forgot to check the right end of the hall which now lied behind him.

He slowly turned around, not really expecting to see anything since nothing has yet to come up behind him. However, he practically jumped out of his chilled skin when he saw what appeared to be a woman in a pink dress quite literally standing on the wall to his right. Kyon froze in place at the horrifying sight. The woman herself was absolutely hideous in appearance. She stood their with a half decayed face and a knife in her left hand. Her head was tilted uncomfortable to the right and her tough was hanging out of her mouth. She was producing a disgusting gurgling sound and took a single step towards Kyon.

Just as this happened, Kyon took a step back and raised his pistol towards the woman with a trembling right arm. A few more moments of silence would pass and neither of the two would make any sudden movements. Kyon kept his eyes on the woman, even though he was most certainly frightened out of his mind by this insane scene, he appeared to be gaining more and more confidence as the night progressed. This monster of a woman abruptly snapped her head back in place which produced a cringe worthy popping sound in her neck. She then let out a blood curdling scream and ran along the wall towards Kyon with her arms outstretched in front of her.

Kyon instinctively fired off several shots of his weapon. One out of the three he fired hit the woman, but as soon as it did, she suddenly disappeared into thin air as if she never existed in the first place. Kyon took several deep breaths to illustrate just how relieved he was. There was two things that made him a little more nervous about the situation though. One, if that thing was real, then that fact alone was worrying enough. Two, if that thing was not real which it probably was not; then would that not mean that Kyon just experienced a hallucination? Kyon could not figure out which scenario was the worst to undertake. Either he goes insane in the most inconvenient time in his life, or he had just killed something that should have been the subject of a cult classic horror movie.

There was no way to tell which one was the case nor did Kyon think too long on this. He still had to find Ryoko. Luckily he was now assured that the school was empty or at least this section of the campus. Since he just shot his extremely loud gun three times, he was expecting any monsters nearby would be swarming these halls by now but they were still empty, and everything was as quiet as it had been since before he actually engaged with that horrific entity.

* * *

><p>It would not be too much longer before Kyon made his way to the cafeteria which was surprisingly dark compared to the rest of the campus. It would only take for a few seconds before Kyon stopped scanning the area as he rested his gaze upon a familiar young woman with blue hair. She was sitting at one of the tables in the back of the cafeteria nearest to a window where she gazed out of the glass, and into the starry sky above.<p>

Kyon quietly approached her and took a seat at the opposite side of her table. This did not startle Ryoko in the least. She merely turned to face him with an unreadable grin on her face. "Did something happen," she questioned hesitantly. "I heard gunshots awhile ago."

"I uh... killed a monster," Kyon lied. "Anyway, what's going on. Why did you drag me all the way over here? Why couldn't you have said what you needed to say back at my place?"

Ryoko's smile grew as she moved her right hand towards her chest and reached into the right pocket of her shirt. "If you saw your house before I told you what happened," Ryoko explained. "Then there would be no point in me telling you." With that little introduction out of the way, Ryoko abruptly took out whatever she was searching for in her pocket and threw it out on the table in front of Kyon. He looked down casually, not really caring what about what Ryoko was showing him until he got a good look at it. He adopted a more disgusted expression after seeing a human finger on the table in front of him.

"I'm very sorry Kyon," Ryoko stated. She was of course not sorry at all, her being a complete sociopath had much to do with her detached attitude to Kyon's current situation, but she put on a fake sympathetic smile just to appease him. "But that finger belongs to your mother. She, your father, and your sister are all long from this world now."

Ryoko lowered her head to prevent herself from seeing Kyon's reaction. Surprisingly, he seemed to have taken it the wrong way. As soon as she looked away, Kyon grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her towards him, choking her in the process. "What did you do," he asked in a harsh tone. "Why did you do it you bitch!?"

"Nothing," Ryoko breathed. She shut her eyes tightly in response to the pain of being practically strangled. "I didn't do it. The monsters. They did it. I woke up to the sound of them breaking things in your house. I left at first but I decided to go back in and see for myself whether they lived or not. But they didn't. I cut off your mother's finger to prove this to you."

Kyon then released Ryoko and stood up. She coughed a few times as she attempted to catch her breath. "We need to leave, Kyon," Ryoko informed. "I know what you're thinking but there's no reason to go back there. I have a new plan. I need you to take me to Haruhi's house immediately. We need to find her before Brandon does..."

"Shut up," Kyon yelled and turned away from her. He took a few more steps before he finally allowed himself to collapse to his knees. Ryoko merely watched as Kyon sat there on the ground for what felt to be an hour.

She decided to keep quiet and allow him to mourn, and indeed he would do so. Kyon was shockingly not anger, he was not enraged by the idea, nor was he of vengeful mind set. He was simply drowning in his own sorrow.


	8. Ecce Homo

**Ecce Homo**

Once again, Ryoko and Kyon found themselves sitting next to each other as the only two passengers on a ghostly train traveling through a dead town. Kyon leaned his head against the window, watching the hopeless world remain stagnant while Ryoko kept going on about whatever depressing topic was on her mind.

"We should stop trying," Ryoko suggested with a solemn smile on her face. "We're just going to die. We'll be eaten by those creatures or perhaps our hearts will simply give out from our own despair. Either way, what awaits us is a peaceful serenity. As you know, I'm no stranger to the serenity. Nagato killed me and it took long time for that alternate dimension to be born which returned me to a meaningless physical state of being. I can assure you, what awaits us is nothing more than a deep sleep. There is no Heaven, no Hell, those places are nothing more than myths. Imagine the time before you were born. You were created from nothing, not from a god, not from the Big Bang; nay for you come from nothing, you live a meaningless life, then in death you return to the same nothing from whence you came. Please Kyon, the deaths fate has in store for us are too inhumane. Just shoot me, then shoot yourself." Ryoko then placed her hand over Kyon's in an attempt to prove some weird, abstract point she was attempting to make. "May we rest together in solitude and allow the world to destroy itself on its own accord."

"Tell me about Brandon," Kyon abruptly interrupted. Ryoko lifted an eyebrow at him in confusion. He most certainly heard her but he did not seem to be reacting to her little offer. He kept his eyes on the passing lights on the outside of the train. Ryoko let out a long defeated sigh before she began speaking.

"Brandon was a quiet individual during the time in which he actually could speak. I remember watching over him at one point when I was still working with Nagato. He was quite the boring person, almost as boring as Suzumiya. We never knew where he came from but considering his parents and himself were white, and fluent in French, he must have come from France or some other francophone country. After awhile, and keep in mind that I have a limited perspective on the situation, but for some reason Nagato and Koizumi decided to kill Brandon, or at least prevent him from ever doing anything notable in his life. They were able to find a way to throw him in a foster home for retards and other mentally defected people, but again I'm not sure how. I also know that they did not keep this a secret from him. They even prevented him from ever speaking again, but I don't know what they did specifically."

Ryoko then turned to see what Kyon was doing after she noticed a brief silence when she finished her explanation. Kyon in turn, was staring at Ryoko with an expression of disbelief. "So that's why he's hunting them down," Kyon asked quietly and Ryoko nodded. Kyon sighed and returned his attention to the window. "Well, if I see him again, I'll be sure to tell him where they are."

It would not be too much longer before the train came to a slow stop at a station which was very familiar to Kyon. It was the station he got off at every time in which he traveled to Haruhi's house. The only difference was that he never used this station at night which made everything look drastically different. He also has never been here when there was nobody around. The lack of people, just like everywhere else in the city, caused an uncomfortable silence to loom over him.

Ryoko was the first person to stand up. She then grabbed Kyon by the wrist and pulled him up to his feet forcefully. "Come on, slow poke. We still need to find Suzumiya before Brandon does. Once we get our answers we can leave and do whatever from there."

Kyon stood up and walked out into the aisle in between the rows of seats and allowed Ryoko to guide him off of the train. "We won't be there for long," Kyon insisted. "I want to figure out what's in that church on the hill. Remember? I told you about the people I met. So let's get this over with and leave quickly. We have better things to do than sit around and deal with someone as aggravating as Haruhi tends to be."

* * *

><p>Brandon would soon come to a stop from his long aimless wandering as he noticed a large theater on the same street as he was. Not only this, but the lights were on inside it. Brandon found this curious seeing as how the only lights around were streetlights, headlights from abandoned cars, and the lights which were left on to save energy in buildings. If the lights were on in this theater then there must be something going on.<p>

The man in the mask glanced around to see if he was still being followed by that creepy monster who was wearing the trash can lid over his face. Surely enough, nobody else was around except for him. Feeling beset on all sides by curiosity, Brandon shoved his hands in his coat pockets and headed up to the pair of doors which marked the entrance into this mysterious theater. Brandon reached out with his right hand and pushed one of the doors open. It produced a creaking sound as it opened. Brandon then cautiously entered the old building.

The entrance hall was dark and looked to be of an abandoned state. Brandon would have walked away right after seeing the useless entrance hall, but he quickly heard voices in the main auditorium which was just behind a pair of closed black doors on the right side of this hall. Brandon walked up to the next set of doors and pushed them open. He stopped himself almost instantaneously to see what was in the auditorium. Each seat was surprisingly occupied but not with a human being. Instead, the red seats of the theater were occupied by lifeless mannequins. One notable detail about these mannequins would be a small object strapped around each of their necks. It was a little speaker, as if the audience of mannequins needed a way to react to what took place on stage.

The stage on the other hand, was actually very lively. There was a single spotlight shining down on a wooden chair which had been nailed to the floor. In that chair was an odd entity with the head of a chimpanzee and the body of a woman. This creature's hands were nailed down to the arms of the chair, and its feet were also nailed down to the floor. The horrid little beast kept hissing loudly in pain and would occasionally scream like that of a primate about to be eaten. Brandon then notice something odd about the ceiling. There hanging above the stage was an uncountable number of human forearms which had been cut off of their former bodies and strung up by bones over the ceiling. They each pointed an accusing index finger at the creature sitting in the chair.

Brandon watched the monster nailed to the stage scream and moan in pain for ten more minutes before the entire stage was abruptly washed with a bright light from behind the right curtain. Brandon hid his face from the light which cometh closer to the chimp-headed woman bound by the actions and will of those who are too cowardly to face judgment themselves. Soon the light disappointed and a tall young man stepped out onto the stage. The man wore a bronze hat over his brown hair, and a long velvet red tarp over his right arm yet nothing more. He had brown eyes which were glazed over as if in deep contemplation. In his left hand was what appeared to be a crown of thorny vines.

Out of nowhere, Brandon nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the sound of a unified audience clapping and cheering as if this was some sort of sitcom in which a famous actor just took the stage. In a way, that was a very good analogy. Brandon quickly looked around to see the mannequins were still motionless yet the noise they were producing appeared to be a recording from the little speakers around their necks.

"Hear thy words," the man abruptly stated with a stern voice that echoed out into the auditorium. With the coming of his voice, the mannequins silenced themselves and Brandon instantly turned back to face the stage. "For it is I, Mercury, the god who was abandoned by his own followers with the coming of the Catholic mindset. Know what shattered wisdom I bring to the evolution of man. For it is he who exists from nothing yet ye who is nothing without him. Thou hath lied to the good peoples of the world. For it was thy father who birthed thee from a virgin mother to undertake a burden to large for man to carry himself. Now, here the savior rests, already in bondage he waits for the coming of the crown constructed from lies and empty promises. For evil still exists within this world, or does it? Is evil nothing more than an opinion? Yes. Therefore, evil is a lie just as much as good is a lie. None of the less, humanity grants thou a crown of thorns to symbolize a resurrection of one which is promised to lead to many yet this promise was never kept."

Mercury then held out the thorny crown and moved it just above the monkey's head. "I beset upon thee, a gift of abstract nature. For the crown represents that it is he who is king of the dead." Mercury lowered the crown onto the monkey's head and forcefully pushed it down to an appropriate level on its forehead as he continued speaking. "I lay this crown upon he who has undertaken a burden of which was not his own. Steal thyself from perfection and submit to humanity." At this point, several thorns were now impaling the creature in its ape-like head. This would ensure that the crown would not move from the head it now belonged to.

As soon as Mercury properly fastened the crown to the head of the false prophet, the chimpanzee opened its mouth and let out a horrifying gurgling sound. This sound kept being produced and after a short moment, a solid green serpent rose out of the ape's mouth. The snake froze in place after it reached a half a foot above the mouth of the monkey. The serpent then opened its mouth and began vomiting a disgusting mixture of both blood and small maggots which were surprisingly still alive and moving around within the falling stream of blood.

Mercury stood upright once more and held his hands out to the ceiling above as if he were accepting something from the god on high. "It is I, Mercury. I am the guardian of man's journey through death. Yet there is no journey, therefore, I guide thee to the eternal serenity. If there is no God, then how can there be a definable good and evil? There is not. They are works of fiction brought upon by false prophets of whom will from their deaths onward be knoweth as saviors of man. It is man who lies to himself. It is man who desires good and evil, it is man who believes in an afterlife because he is too cowardly to see the truth. There is no afterlife! There is no good! There is no evil! I from hither onwards, guide you to a safe oblivion free of irrational thought! Take my hand," Mercury exclaimed as he unexpectedly turned to face Brandon who was still standing there in the middle of the audience, dumbfounded by what he was seeing. "And I shall guide you to a forever sleep."

Brandon backed away slowly in an almost fearful manner. Brandon was very rarely apprehensive and in this current situation, he was not afraid so much as he was shocked. He then abruptly turned and ran away from the stage and back out into the lonely streets from whence he came. He could feel Mercury's divine eyes burning him in the back as he left. As soon as Brandon completely left the auditorium, Mercury looked down to his feet with an unreadable expression on his flawless face. "Malum est mendacium," Mercury muttered to himself in an emotionless tone.

* * *

><p>Kyon and Ryoko approached a single wooden door which marked the entrance to an average sized two story house which Kyon claimed to be Haruhi's place of residence. Ryoko goosestepped ahead of Kyon before she came to a stop on Haruhi's porch and twirled around to face Kyon. "She gave him a bright smile, but Kyon could immediately see through the manipulative facial expression and noticed that something dark had crossed Ryoko's perverse little mind.<p>

"You look tired, Kyon," Ryoko informed. "Why don't you let me deal with Miss Suzumiya. I'm sure you're not in the mood to put up with her annoying ways. Just let me interrogate her. I'll at least get some information out of her. Why don't you just wait out here for me? I promise I won't take too terribly long."

There was obviously something suspicious about this which caused Kyon to lift a cynical eyebrow at his metaphorical sidekick. It was definitely awkward that Ryoko randomly wanted to confront Haruhi alone, but surprisingly, Kyon did not seem to care. "_She's right_," Kyon said subconsciously as he studied Ryoko's disingenuous smile. "_I'm already not in the best mood I've ever been in. If I have to deal with Haruhi's obnoxious behavior, I'll probably just end up strangling her to death._"

"Okay," Kyon sighed and walked up to the porch before he took a seat at Ryoko's feet. "Just hurry up. I don't want to be hanging around in such an exposed area for too long. I already can feel us being watched. I don't want a bunch of monsters attacking me while you're in there playing with that oddball."

"Yes sir," Ryoko exclaimed with a mocking salute. She then twirled back around to the door and placed her hand on the doorknob and tried to open it but it was locked. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Kyon was not watching. She then pulled out one of the pins in her hair and shoved it into the key hole. She fiddled around for a few seconds before she heard the door unlock. Ryoko's face lit up and she turned the knob before she promptly pushed the door open and looked back to Kyon one more time. "I'll be back in a second," she told him and shut the door behind herself.

Ryoko then leaned against the door and looked around the dark house. Not a sound was made. Ryoko could not even hear a creak in this house. She took a long whiff of the thick air which loomed over the seemingly abandoned home. The manipulative smile on her face which she was using to associate with Kyon suddenly shifted to a more ominous grin which was accompanied by a creepy look in her eyes.

She suddenly yet ever so slowly, held out her right arm and lifted up her sleeve with her left hand. A kitchen knife then slide out into her right hand where Ryoko grabbed the handle before it fell to the ground.

Ryoko headed straight for a staircase which was the first thing she spotted when she entered the dark house. She walked up the stairs and came to a stop on the second level of the house. Her knife was the only thing glistening in the pitch black hallway. It would appear that Ryoko knew exactly where to go seeing as how she turned to the right and walked up to a closed door. She did not even knock, instead, Ryoko simply barged in and looked around to see if she could find Haruhi. There was a bed in this room, a computer, desk, and closet but nothing more. Ryoko's grin widened as she heard fearful breathing coming from the bed.

She calmly placed her hands behind her back in a manner of false innocence. Ryoko came to a stop just in front of the bed. She silently reached out with her left hand and moved the covers but nobody was hiding underneath the sheets. Ryoko then covertly knelt down and aggressively reached her hand under the bed where the sound of breathing was most certainly coming from. She suddenly widened her eyes as she felt her hand touch a pile of hair. She grabbed a hold of the hair and yanked the person out from hiding. That person was of course Haruhi who was just about to scream when Ryoko placed a hand over her mouth.

Haruhi only slightly calmed herself as she realized who was holding her to the ground. Ryoko's grin morphed into a strange smile as she pulled her knife out from behind her back and held it out for Haruhi to see. "Shh," Ryoko whispered in a manner which was creepy even for someone like her. "Don't get too loud. Kyon is outside and I'm sure he doesn't want to hear your annoying cries."

Tears slowly began streaming down Haruhi's face as Ryoko brought the knife down to her cheek and ever so calmly, sliced into her skin just enough for blood to mix with her tears before Ryoko moved the blade away from her face. "Forgive me Miss Suzumiya," Ryoko continued in a whisper. "But I'm going _insane_. There's nothing to do. I need to see someone bleed. I need to see someone in pain. I need to cause someone pain. I need to make someone bleed. I could have stabbed Kyon several times on the way over here when he wasn't paying attention but I think I've taken a liking into him. So, I'll have to take out my boredom on you. It's not like you're important anymore so please don't take it personally. I just need some entertainment."

Ryoko then looked over her shoulder and stabbed Haruhi in the thigh before she removed the knife just as quickly as she stuck it into Haruhi's leg. Ryoko forced Haruhi's head against the ground as she attempted to scream but she eventually settled down. "Alright," Ryoko muttered. "I'm leaving now. I think Kyon and are going to have plenty of fun later so don't expect to see him or I for a little while, if ever again." Ryoko only said this because she knew Haruhi was attracted Kyon. In her own way, it was similar to adding insult to some already pretty painful injuries. "Now, when I get off of you, don't move. If you scream, I'll cut your throat and Kyon won't even care to come help you. Do you understand, or do you need me to remind you of just all the things I could do to you right now?" Haruhi shook her head and Ryoko smiled with twisted satisfaction.

* * *

><p>Kyon was still sitting in that same spot on Haruhi's porch until Ryoko finally opened the front door and stepped out of the house. She tilted her head after noticing that Kyon had dozed off while she was in the house 'dealing' with Haruhi. She reached down towards him and plucked a single hair out of his head which naturally caused him to wake up and cover his head with his right hand before he gave a sour expression to Ryoko.<p>

"Did you find anything," he asked quietly.

"Nope," Ryoko informed. "She was there but she was completely useless. She didn't know a thing." Of course the only reason Ryoko was saying this was not only because she did not ask Haruhi anything to begin with, but she also safely assumed that Haruhi would not have the slightest clue as to what is going on around them. "Come on. You said you wanted to go somewhere so let's hurry it up before we end up getting surrounded by the monsters."

* * *

><p>Enigma was standing in the dark hallway of an empty office building. The entity of unexplained origin held out a book as if he were showing it to someone but nobody else was around. The book appeared to be a hand written manuscript. The ink was red for some strange reason and it was all written down in an odd language. This language was most certainly not in Latin as the odd deities invading the world have been speaking, but rather, it was no recognizable language. In fact, if one were to compare Enigma's book the famous Voynich manuscript, they would see a strong resemblance between the two languages. That is only because Enigma's book was written in some sort of natural language. Only he and a few others could actually read the contents but every once and awhile, one might come across a word that looks to be more of English origin or perhaps Latin.<p>

"Hear my words oh metaphorical father of solitude," Enigma stated with his two simultaneous voices. One voice being from his mouth while the other coming from the mouth of the mask which was still strapped to the back of his head. "What might lay behind the wall of darkness which blocks my eyes of both physical and metaphysical peripherals. Is it nothing once again? Is there nothing beyond the darkness. If there is nothing behind the light, then could there be some hidden artifact behind the shadows that now plague this already long lost world? I request nothing more than the proof of the sun. I know the sun is still out there for I can feel its universal warmth on my skin. I speak of better days. I speak of a time when the sun still lit up the world it once kept watch over. The same planet which orbits around the eternal star. Will the sun not shine again? Do I require the sun to live? Nay, but humanity demands the sun to protect them from the awaiting encephalopathy."

The hallway Enigma was standing in suddenly faded away into nothing more than a black void. All light had been drained from this bleak void. Enigma then abruptly turned upside down but he did not react to this. It was as if gravity no longer applied to him, but given the fact that he was now trapped in some sort of void probably had a lot to do with the lack of gravity around him. The book remained in his open hands.

"I find myself worried for the sake of those who rest for an eternity," Enigma proclaimed in a flat and very detached tone of voice. "I can only wonder what awaits their pitiful souls. There is nothing left but to experience the end of their existence which must be very frightening for these creatures to experience. They face not total extinction, but the replacement of their species as well. They will be succeed by the Übermensch. I can already hear their cells dying out as they sleep away in their beds ignorant to the end that draws near. For them, death comes silently in the night. A rare thing indeed, count yourselves lucky."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, a skeleton was sitting in the back room which was positioned just behind the large stage of the theater which Brandon previously visited. The skeleton was no longer playing with the electric prod and dismembered fingers. He was now toying with an actually human. A woman sat bound to a chair in what appeared to be a make up room. The skeleton who called himself Theater, was now busy cutting up the poor woman's face. Theater was infamous for being a very picky play write and casting director. The characters in his plays must look absolutely perfect. As a result, Theater would often cut off their imperfect or deformed body parts and replace them with new parts from a recently passed corpse.<p>

Theater was currently in the process of editing this young woman's face to make her look more like the character he as envisioned for his next play. One odd thing about Theater other than what he was doing at the moment, would be the fact that he never watched his own plays. The play which was previously underway when Brandon was present in the audience, was now long over yet Theater never dropped in once to see how it was going. He simply cut off the head of that woman who was going to be acting in it and replaced her old head with the head of a chimpanzee and sent her on her way.

"Alright," Theater began as he examined the woman's mutilated face. She was once quite attractive until Theater got a hold of her. Now she was nothing more than a feminine Frankenstein. Both of her cheeks appeared to have been cut off. In their place, a new pair of cheeks which most certainly did not originally belong to her, were now stitched onto her face. Another awkward detail about her 'editing' would be the fact that the skin of her forehead and been replaced with a slightly paler skin which was also sown onto that horrific face of hers. The insane skeleton then abruptly pulled out a pair of tweezers, and aimed them directly at the woman's left eye. Unfortunately, the woman's left eye was lazy while the other one was perfectly fine. "It took me awhile to find an eyeball which matches the same shade of brown as yours so don't flinch. You'll thank me for this later."

Theater then stabbed the pair of tweezers into the area around the woman's left eye and yanked the orb of vision out of her skull. Naturally, the woman let out a bloodcurdling scream and held her hands up to her face protectively. Theater casually held up the eye for examination. He tilted his skull curiously before he reached up with his bony fingers and pulled the eye out of the tweezers, he then turned and tossed the useless eyeball into a nearby garbage can. There was no use for this eye anymore. It is imperfect which will reflect negatively on the play itself. That would be the mentality Theater operated on.

The extremely obsessive-compulsive skeleton then reached for a napkin which was protectively wrapped around a small spherical object. Theater removed the napkin with his index and thumb of his left hand, revealing the object concealed was a spare human eye which had recently been plucked from another unfortunate soul. "Here you are," Theater stated proudly. "A new eye just for you. Maybe this time people can actually look at you without an expression of disgust."

Theater placed his left hand over the woman's face and forcefully held open her left eyelids which were now covered in blood. He then shoved the foreign eye into the empty socket. The woman abruptly began blinking uncomfortably before she opened her mouth to say something. "I'm sorry Mr. Theater but I can't see out of this eye."

"Then your old eye shouldn't have been lazy," Theater growled in an unexpectedly violent tone. He then raised his right hand and slapped her before the skeleton stood up and walked away. "Now get out of my sight. Go and rehearse your lines. If your performance isn't flawless then all of that surgery I just did to ensure you look absolutely beautiful will be taken back."

The actress immediately ran out of the room because she knew exactly what he meant when he said he would 'take the surgery away from her.' Theater sighed as he heard the door shut from behind. He threw his pair of tweezers on a nearby counter and looked into a mirror on the wall longingly. "Why," he questioned aloud. "Why must I be subject to such incompetence in my cast. Is it not divine to search for perfection? Is it not rational to create beauty when there is none to be found? I believe so. If there is nothing waiting for us on the other side of infinity, then why not search for perfection now? There are no miracles, no guardian angels, no good fortune. Can anybody help me find the perfection I seek out? I must find those few souls who are both perfect in aesthetic as they are in mentality. They must have blond hair and blue eyes. They must have a captivating face and be six feet tall. I demand the most beautiful people this pitiful earth has to offer! I have to tolerate people like her, people who are hideous in both mind and body yet I fix their outward appearance and place them into the roles of proper characters all for the sake of art in an artless world. However, I must say that I am thankful for one thing. Those few disgusting souls who act as if they are the perfect human yet they are both hideous, and intolerable are the people I hate the most. I must find true perfection and create a truly beautiful play which will captivate the audience to the very end. In these dark hours, I create entertainment for the people when they are so close to extinction. I tolerate casting the roles of my characters to actors who are less than perfect yet there will come a day when I find perfection. I will find people of whom I do not need to change their appearance. When such a day comes, I will put on a play which will serenade humanity until they finally fall into a deep, eternal sleep. Amen, my _non-existent_ father."


End file.
